Yamuraiha
by imafangirlforever
Summary: Being reborn as Yamuraiha, the genius Water Magician, after committing suicide by drowning was irony in its greatest form. Throw in a charismatic fisherman's son, dorky ex-assassin, and stupid tsundere swordsman...well, she's ready to kill herself again. OC!Yamuraiha
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own Magi, the same goes for the rest of the story. All rights go to respective owners. Thanks for checking this out. :)**

 _ **Edited 3/26/18**_

* * *

No human could comprehend death to its full extent. It was an idea too surreal for those who only knew life, and would continue to elude human understanding. Yet, humans continued to try to understand what exactly existed beyond death, and that fascinated her.

The human _mind_ fascinated her as a whole, which was why she decided to specialize in psychiatry when the time came to pick her specialty. It was so fragile and easily broken, yet with the right kind of personality and courage it was nearly invincible. Human emotions were ephemeral: they were always changing so often at little whims.

She hated that about humans. The funny thing was...well, that aspect was what she loved about humans as well.

Perhaps that, among a multitude of other reasons, was what had driven her to jump off of that bridge on that cold, bitter day. Life was bland. There was no meaning to her life, and frankly there would be no one who would mourn her absence anyways. Sure, they might act shocked about her disappearance after a few days of no word, but they'd move on. Her life was just _that_ insignificant in the midst of a giant world. She didn't care what really would happen after her death: all she wanted was for the suffering to _end_.

No more voicemails. No more pitying looks. No more people who could drift away from her and leave her alone again. And...no more...of that horrible sinking feeling...

Her feet tipped forward, and she could hear a shout of alarm echo across the bridge as she felt someone rushing towards her. There was no more hesitation in her movements as she let herself fall forward, gravity taking its course as she spread out her arms, taking in her last breaths of cold, winter air.

When she had first hit the water, her first thought was: _it's cold_.

She hated the cold.

She hated water, too.

.

.

.

 _It's dark...it's dark...so dark..._

.

.

.

 _There is light... a small beacon that is drawing everything towards it._

.

.

.

Her eyes opened, but she could see nothing but warm blurs. She felt herself being hugged by something warm before a drop of salty water splashed on her cheek.

... _tears?_

She hated water. That thought echoed through her head, and later she would laugh at the irony of it all. She hated tears almost as much as she hated water. Somewhere near her, a loud sound resounded, but she still couldn't discern what was around her. Her eyes drifted shut…

...and she fell asleep in the midst of desperate sobs and planitive whispers.

" _I'm sorry, my dear Yamuraiha. My daughter."_

.

.

.

* * *

"Mother, that baby servant has wandered into my bedroom again!"

Queen Irina the Third of the kingdom of Musta'sim looked up from her cup of tea, staring exasperatedly at her son as the boy pouted and crossed his arms. "Nicholas, please do refrain from shouting. We _are_ indoors, after all," the woman chided, her green locks falling to her waist as she thoughtfully took in this news.

The new servant was around a year old, now. They had taken her from her family almost as soon as she was born because she was the daughter of their most talented magician in the kingdom. "Yamuraiha" was the name the magician's wife had wept over as the baby girl was carried off. Queen Irina had to put an attendant in charge of watching the girl (a servant, watching another _servant_ of all things!) after several complaints from her son.

For heaven's sake, that girl was much too active. Her daughter, Dunya, hardly did anything but cry and sleep to the royal guards' relief.

"What did she do _this_ time?" Queen Irina asked patiently, raising her eyebrows questioningly as the green haired boy flushed all the way to his freckles. Nicholas, the crown prince, was not more than five years old. Even so, he already was showing promise, attending business meetings with royal finesse. However, Queen Irina couldn't figure out how that baby had managed to provoke her perfect, well-mannered son into such an irritated state every day. She wished she knew: Queen Irina didn't _want_ her precious son to grow up so fast, even though she knew his duties required him to.

"She was annoying me," he mumbled. "I just locked the door to the library for a while and she started flipping out, grabbing some of my stuff and hiding it in the staff's kitchen. The _staff's kitchen,_ mother! Do you know how much my clothes have gotten dirty from that small adventure?"

"Nicholas," his mother said sternly as the boy obediently shut up. "If you wish, we can summon a servant to wash your clothes."

Her son brightened. "Why don't we call a magician up instead? I've heard of their amazing powers, mother, and they sound amazing! I want to become one when I grow up—"

" _Nicholas!_ " Although her voice was quiet, there was now a dark intensity to it that made her son gulp in fear. Sighing in defeat, Queen Irina leaned back a little more into her throne as she explained, "The magicians are not what they seem. If you recall from your history lessons, they were the ones to bring a plague to our country. It is _outlawed_ to practice magic in our kingdom, and that is why I do not want you to speak of this again."

Nicholas took in this information thoughtfully. It seemed like his head was beginning to clear, because this time he asked with a much more logical tone. "What about Yamuraiha? Isn't she the daughter of one of our former magicians?"

Queen Irina's eyes turned cold as she stared at her son. "Nicholas, my son, I suggest for you to stop before you try my patience."

"But Yamuraiha?" Nicholas pressed.

Queen Irina saw the determination and curiosity reflected in her son's eyes and sighed, relenting, "...we are keeping her here for now to judge whether or not she has inherited her parents' aptitude at magic. If we find that she is able to use magic, she will be executed like her parents. If she is not, then we will treat her as any citizen of our country because we do not discriminate by background, unlike that damn Magnoshutatt."

"Execute?"

"Yamuraiha shall be killed immediately if she displays any form of magic," Queen Irina expressed solemnly, closing her eyes. "Now, that is enough questions. Hurry along now, Nicholas. I believe your violin lessons begin in fifteen minutes."

Queen Irina made a shooing motion as she watched her son scurry out of the door with a heavy heart. She had hoped he would not get too attached to their newest servant in case they had to kill her. But nothing could be done: magicians brought nothing but harm.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 _ **Edit 3/26/18: This story begins slowly, in an almost slice-of-life fashion. I promise that as the story goes on, plot happens and canon will be screwed over.**_

 **An extremely short chapter for a lot of stuff that is about to come. There will be a few changes to Yamuraiha's backstory (e.g. Her family serving the Musta'sim family for generations=magician father now + Magnoshutatt being an independent country and the revolt being caused by nobles), mainly for creative and plot purposes.**

 **Nicholas, Dunya's brother, is an OC. We never got much backstory about her in canon. Yamuraiha's childhood in Musta'sim will be explored more.**

 **Please review. ;) I'd love to see your thoughts on this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Age 1**

* * *

Her name was Yamuraiha. Officially, she was considered one year old, and at the moment she was located in the kingdom of Musta'sim. She had unusual, but natural, blue hair that was beginning to grow on her infant head, along with teal eyes that seemed to flicker somewhat in its shade of blue.

The evidence was all there. From what she had seen, she was now Yamuraiha from Magi, an anime she had loved in her past life.

...well, she was _so_ done with this shit.

The one time she actually _didn't_ want to live anymore, she got a second chance at life. When she had figured out her situation, she had panicked. Yamuraiha was a genius magician whose talent (amongst other things) had gotten her chosen to become one of Sinbad's eight generals. Her? Well, if pretending to be a witch flying on a broomstick for her fifth Halloween in her old life counted, she'd suppose she knew a little about magic.

Yamuraiha might not have been a main character like Aladdin, Alibaba, or even Morgiana, but she still played a crucial part in keeping Sindria safe. And during the Magnoshutatt arc…

Yamuraiha was set to be killed in the country she currently was in until Mogamett kidnapped her and brought her to Magnoshutatt. Well, that was great and all, but so far in this warped timeline Yamuraiha hadn't seen any sign of the old geezer.

Either way, she was _not going to accept this_. Screw the plot, screw the consequences, and screw Yamuraiha and whatever had been done to put her in this second body. Like hell she was going to go through the heartbreak of losing a father figure, and as if she was ever going to be shipped with an arrogant swordsmen. Sinbad's elite force could still function without her: the Seven Generals still sounded really cool. Yeah. They'd be _fine_. If any, the title sounded better: Sinbad, Conqueror of the Seven Seas and his Seven Generals. Seven was a lucky number.

Yamuraiha was just a tad worried about her situation at the moment. Although she wanted to die, she'd prefer to die on her own terms. Yamuraiha was a prideful person that would _never_ die just because someone else made her. Perhaps a similar death like before: by water. She could probably throw herself off a ship and no one would realize. Or a bridge. That'd be nice. Unknownst to her, a deranged smile slipped on her face. Luckily, no one saw the one-year old's mask slip.

Well, at least she escaped the reality of her past life. There were no phone calls here, no worried texts, no pitying looks. Just the castle servants who never paid her any mind. ( _But they are afraid of you_ , her mind whispered. _They have noticed your abnormal existence. You shouldn't exist._ )

Wasn't it ironic that a woman who died from drowning had been reborn as a Water Magician?

She referred to herself as Yamuraiha now, even in her thoughts. It was no use dwelling on her old life, so she might as well get used to this one in the little time she had. If she somehow slipped up or didn't respond to the name, that would be bad. Besides, she didn't want to think of her old life anyways.

"Yamu~" Someone jumped in front of her one year old body, nearly startling her and making her almost choke from the loaf of bread she had swiped from the kitchen.

"Buh," Yamuraiha pointed at the direction of the library, giving a pouty look to her attendant. The attendant's name was Mira, and she was only sixteen years old. Mira had nearly blinding golden hair the same shade as the Sun, along with emerald green eyes that always sparkled with excitement. She was quite an exuberant and energetic person, and thus when the Queen had asked for volunteers to take care of Yamuraiha, she had immediately raised her hand.

Apparently Yamuraiha was too troublesome for the servants to deal with, but too important ( _dangerous?_ ) to throw away, so Mira was assigned to make sure she didn't piss off Prince Nicholas again. It was a piece of cake to escape from the girl, however, and frankly Yamuraiha found her attendant's nature very amusing and naive.

"Ah, the library? But you don't even know how to talk yet, much less read! And have you been taking food from the kitchen again? Albert seems annoyed," Mira exclaimed, almost completely in one breath. Yamuraiha had to blink a few times to take in the wave of information thrown at her.

Interestingly enough, the language universally spoken throughout the countries was a unique blend of several languages. It had the same sentence structure as English, making it a lot easier, but the words spoken were a mixture of Japanese and Arabic.

Thankfully, Yamuraiha already knew a bit of Japanese from her past life: she had taken it as a foreign language throughout high school and college. But Arabic was completely new to her. She had managed to sneak into the library a few times while the prince, Nicholas, was having lessons because the door was left open then. Although she could not reach the top shelves, children books were located near the floor and she was able to snatch several books and gather a general understanding of the language.

At one year old, she could understand most of what Mira said, although her attendant's overly dramatic actions and gestures might have helped her get the gist of what the girl was saying. Yamuraiha could read the general alphabet ( _oh, how much she had been grateful for when she realized the language didn't require her to memorize a gazillion characters like when she took Japanese)_ , and could start keeping up with the technical jargon of this world. It had taken her hours of searching in the library (mainly because she literally _couldn't reach anything_ ), but she had finally figured out the insults the castle servants always threw to her.

 _Magician's daughter. Cursed child. Evil child._

God, they were creatively harsh towards kids. Then again, Yamuraiha was still technically a servant: the lowest of their society, and since their country went by a tier system in which you couldn't escape the social class you were born in, she was bound to have hostile words thrown to her. If any, she was even lower than a servant, as a "magician's daughter". The people of Musta'sim, as she had gathered, hated magicians.

That wasn't too hard to figure out, considering the suspicious glares sent her way everyday. It was a miracle that anybody had volunteered to watch Yamuraiha, although she supposed that Mira was a pretty open person.

"Buh?" Yamuraiha pointed at the direction of the library again, narrowing her eyes. That darn prince had locked up the library when he discovered how often Yamuraiha liked to go there.

Mira sighed, but nodded her head as she said quickly, "I'll go get the keys from one of the other servants."

Left to her own devices, Yamuraiha marvelled at how easy it was to get away from prying adult eyes at her age. Well. Even though she had only been in the palace for a year, Yamuraiha had already thoroughly examined its layout. If needed, she was sure she could map out an escape route: the only problem was that she wasn't very confident in her abilities to actually _follow_ that escape plan. She could now crawl, and she could waddle around on her legs awkwardly in such a way that the actions shouldn't even be called 'walking'.

"Oi! Brat!" A call sounded from behind her, and to Yamuraiha's annoyance she saw that it was the crown prince. Once upon a time, she might have even befriended the boy (despite his arrogance) because it was useful to have friends in high places, but he was _such a stupid kid that it made Yamuraiha want to laugh_.

It was so painfully obvious that Nicholas had no idea of what was going on outside of the palace. He talked about magicians enthusiastically, making most of his tutors shift awkwardly in fear, and many of them had been questioned for instilling such ideas into the young prince's head. But, sadly, it wasn't any of the tutors' faults.

It was Yamuraiha's. A smirk played on her lips as she thought about it. It had been easy to locate the (forbidden) area where books of magic were in the library, and she just happened to lead the prince there. If a crown prince spoke against the execution of magicians, that may buy her some time.

She couldn't help but admit that his reactions were also quite fun.

"Mou, Yamuraiha! Where did you go?" Mira's exasperated call echoed throughout the hall, but the girl quickly stopped when she saw Nicholas. Her ears turned red as she bowed at the mini-toddler. "M-my Prince, how do you do?"

"Can you get this kid out of my face?" Nicholas crossed his arms over his chest, scowling. He looked impressively like his father despite being only four years old. "Just looking at it annoys me."

"Gah." Yamuraiha pointed at him before sticking her tongue out. The message was obvious, and Mira squeaked before quickly running over and scooping the teal haired baby into her arms. _She was not an 'it', thank you very much_.

"O-of course, your Majesty! I apologize in the stead of my charge. She's just a baby and doesn't know what she's saying," Mira began babbling uselessly as both Yamuraiha and Nicholas sent her a flat look. The blonde haired girl brightened as she came up with a topic that may appease both parties. "Ah, Prince Nicholas, is your baby sister Princess Dunya doing alright?"

Yamuraiha also perked up at the subject. Princess Dunya was the same age as her, one year old, and that meant that the plot was well on its way. The revolution started when Dunya had turned around 13 if Yamuraiha recalled correctly, so she had plenty of time to get out of the kingdom.

She was sure of it.

And in the meantime, she would continue with the facade of an innocent baby.

* * *

 **Age 2**

* * *

"Damn it, where did that _devil's child_ go now?" The Head Cook cursed, glancing around for any sight of a teal haired toddler. His action was to no avail, as he didn't spot any bright haired servants crawling along the hallway. It was usually easy for him to find her, as only a true cursed child could have hair so bright, but for once the Head Cook did not track where the two year old went in time.

Unknownst to him, Yamuraiha giggled from her hidden position in the kitchen as she crawled out from under the table, grabbing a few freshly baked pastries and popping them in her mouth before leisurely making her way back to where Mira was looking for her.

 _Amusing indeed_.

* * *

 _Three tunnels that could lead to the kitchen._ Yamuraiha drew several lines connecting a box shape to several other boxes. _The walls were about three inches thick on all sides, suggesting that there might be secret passageways behind them that could just barely fit a person._ She shaded in a few unknown parts of the castle, taking note her approximate measurements of the floor and the actual size of each room. There were some numbers that were missing, and it was very much likely that the castle had some secret passageways made especially for royalty.

If she was able to figure out those passageways, that could open up a whole new world of exploring and possibility for Yamuraiha. Her eyebrows creased as she circled a few possible rooms where it was most likely to have some kind of hidden entrance. Obviously, the architects wouldn't build entrances to the secret hallway in rooms where many people were to mill about, so she crossed out the dining room and circled a few guest bedrooms. Thoughtfully, she put a question mark next to the kitchen. It was possible that the servants had to deliver late time snacks to royalty if they wished so, and she had heard several grumbles of the such happening before.

Yamuraiha frowned as she noticed that in her haste, the ink from the feather pen she was using had smeared. Tch. How annoying. This was why she couldn't wait until some more innovation happened in this country: feather pens were _such_ a pain to write with. Maybe if she had more free time she would try to figure out how to make a better pen. Funny how things she had taken for granted in her old world were such a trouble to find in this one.

She rolled up the sheet of parchment paper that Mira had given her and set the feather pen down, sighing. If anybody else was watching the scene, they would have been thinking that she was just an overly lazy two year old who liked sketching random symbols rather neatly on paper. Yamuraiha stayed in the servant's quarters in the castle, but she had her own tiny room. It was about the size of a closet, more or less, but it gave her the privacy she needed. The servants probably didn't want to put up with a 'magician's daughter' and probably requested for her to have a separate room. There was still a small mattress for her to sleep on and a set of servant clothes provided for her, though, and she was still allowed access to the kitchen to get whatever things she managed to get to eat, so Yamuraiha supposed that she had an okay life for a two year old.

Mira came to check in on her every morning at nine and would continue to follow her around the castle until she retired to bed at eight. Her body needed a lot more rest than her adult's body, so Yamuraiha couldn't really afford to stay up too late, but occasionally after Mira would leave she would pull out a candle she had stolen from one of the other servant's chambers and plan out her escape route like this.

After all, Yamuraiha had to be prepared for the worst. She already knew the rebellion was drawing closer, so in the case that Mogamett didn't find her in time, she wanted to know how to get out of the castle. Thus, after long days of exploration, Yamuraiha would map out her new discoveries on the piece of parchment paper she had just been drawing on.

Yamuraiha yawned as she realized that her eyelids were drooping, so she put the parchment paper under the mattress and laid down, allowing sleep to overcome her.

* * *

 **A/N: Erm...well, this is longer than the previous chapter lol. Expect updates to be weekly or biweekly ish, although I promise nothing because I _know_ there will be something in RL distracting me sometime. Don't expect 10,000 word chapters, but I try to update at a generally normal ish pace. ;)**

 **I'm overwhelmed by all the support. ;) Thank you to all those that favorite-ed, followed, read, and/or reviewed this story. I noticed every single addition (in a totally nonstalkerish way) and each one made a smile grow on my face. A special thanks to the reviewers: it's very stimulating to see another perspective and gets me really inspired to write.**

 **Oh, before I forget. Yamuraiha hasn't been introduced yet in SnB/AoS but obviously she'd be over thirteen by the time she met Sinbad as that's when the rebellion broke out in Musta'sim and she was like, long gone by that time over with Mogamett. But this story will probably have her meeting Sinbad and co. earlier. Ish. Just saying.**

 **Peace. Love you all~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Age 3**

* * *

"I'm going to the marketplace today," Mira explained slowly to little Yamuraiha. Yamuraiha simply stared at her for a moment, wondering who else would take care of her since Mira usually was her sole companion in the castle. "Cook needs some more ingredients and most of the other staff members have fallen sick to an illness, so I need to get the miracle drug for that."

Ah, yes. The epidemic that was supposedly caused by Yamuraiha's presence: she was aware of that, for the servants recently had been more hostile to her than usual. Apparently among the citizens, about fifteen percent of the population had already died, and now the fear of becoming sick had grown so large that many of the castle staff that hadn't fallen ill had turned in forms of resignation.

Mira, surprisingly, had stayed. She was still healthy, and was the main source Yamuraiha counted on for telling her about the world rather than the library. "I'll buy you some candy if I have any leftover money," Mira explained softly, patting Yamuraiha on the head. "I'll be gone for a few nights because I might need to go to one of the far away port towns if our capital has run out of that new miracle drug that cures the illness that ails our people, but I promise I'll return. The trip will take tops a week or two depending on the scarcity of the drug."

Yamuraiha couldn't help but give her caretaker a toothy grin. Although her words sounded cheesy and would be labelled as what those in her old life would call a 'death flag', Yamuraiha knew that Mira was always genuine with her words, and that when she made a promise, she kept it. "Mira be okay," she said slowly. _You'll stay safe._

"Of course." Mira grinned, ruffling the girl's hair. "By the way, Isaac's mom will be taking care of you. You know Isaac, right? He's the servant that Princess Dunya favors a lot. Maybe you two will get along, since you two are the same age."

Yamuraiha sent Mira a sour look. Mira knew her stand on 'making friends with people her age', ever since one time when Mira tried setting up Yamuraiha on a playdate with one of the castle servant's daughters. The girl had been a few years older than Yamuraiha, at seven years old, but Mira had been sure that Yamuraiha was mature enough to handle her. However, the playdate didn't go all so well. It had ended with the girl crying and Yamuraiha being bored. When asked of what happened, Yamuraiha had drawled, " _I invited her to play a small game of chess with me and pointed out a few things she did wrong."_

That, of course, literally meant 'I pointed out every single flaw the girl did and mercilessly pounded on them'. After that, Mira wisely had given up on getting Yamuraiha to socialize with those she didn't want to. The only other person Yamuraiha really bothered was Prince Nicholas, although Mira didn't necessarily want to encourage _their_ budding relationship. It was like a game of cat and mouse, even though Mira couldn't tell who was the cat and who the mouse.

"Isaac?" Yamuraiha repeated. Her 's' sound was a little slurred, but generally Yamuraiha's pronunciation was getting much better.

"Yeah. I'm sure you two can become good friends, so be nice." Mira sent Yamuraiha a half stern look before giving a chuckle at the pouty look on her charge's face. Mira's eyes grew wistful as she stared off in the distance. "Hey, Yamu…" her voice trailed off somewhat as the toddler glanced up at her, her teal eyes meeting Mira's green. "I was born an orphan. My mother was a woman who... _entertained_ people for a living, and so I don't know my father, and my mother died in childbirth. Despite that, the Queen was kind enough to offer me a life in the castle."

Yamuraiha did not interrupt her.

"...I've never known what 'family' really is, but…" Now glancing at her, Mira gave a small, but bright, smile. "I think that if I did, then you'd be like my little sister."

Yamuraiha was struck simply silent by the thought.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Mira laughed, as she gave the little girl one last squeeze. "I'll be back soon."

* * *

"You must be Yamuraiha," Isaac's mother gave her a kind smile as she quickly ushered the girl inside her room. "I've heard wonderful things about you from Mira, that sweet girl."

"Thank you," Yamuraiha said politely.

"How _darling_ ," Isaac's mother gushed. It was a refreshing breath of air within the suffocating atmosphere of the judgmental servants. "You are just _so cute_. Is your hair color natural?" Yamuraiha nodded in response to the question. She knew that Isaac's mother was a seamstress for the palace, but that was about the extent of her knowledge. She definitely didn't know of the woman's exuberant and slightly overbearing nature.

"We can braid it. Maybe...two pigtails. That will look so darling...I always wanted a daughter, you know?" The woman chattered, pulling Yamuraiha fully into the room as the teal haired girl took in the aroma of vanilla that seemed to permeate the room. Isaac's mother still lived on the palace grounds, although she lived in the more secluded servants' quarters that was outside of the main castle building, so her tiny cottage actually had furniture and a kitchen, unlike Yamuraiha's small place in the servants' quarters in the palace.

"I live with several other servants," Isaac's mother explained, noticing Yamuraiha's wide eyes at the slightly spacious room. It was definitely big for a servant. "But I think that most of them have gone on another raid for the war. Isaac and I still stay here, and I believe that Regina and Histok are still here. Regina's another seamstress who is a friend of mine, and Histok is a rather prickly young man who normally patrols the palace grounds."

While she was talking, Isaac's mother had sat Yamuraiha down on a comfy sofa and begun to braid Yamuraiha's shoulder length blue locks. The woman skillfully maneuvered her hands the way only seamstresses could as she hummed under her breath a lullaby. "Regina likes the smell of vanilla, so she always gets Histok to buy her some whenever he goes out to the village," she said, closing her eyes peacefully as she finished one braid and moved onto the next one. She had tied the braid with a piece of pink ribbon.

"Pretty," Yamuraiha tugged on the finished braid, taking in the steady and even effort put into her hair. The look brought back memories from her past life, when her _old_ mother used to braid her hair when Yamuraiha was a little girl. She quickly pushed back the memory before she could dwell on it: those days were _gonegonegonegone._ They were gone.

"Thank you," the woman replied, giving Yamuraiha's head one last pat as she tied the other braid with another piece of pink ribbon, tugging on the bow to make sure it was secure. Stepping back, Isaac's mother couldn't help but admire her handiwork. "You look so adorable," she repeated as Yamuraiha returned her smile a little hesitantly.

* * *

"Regina, here's Yamuraiha. Yamuraiha, this is Regina," Isaac's mother introduced. Regina had long, beautiful raven black hair that fell to her waist, and she had the prettiest brown eyes that made Yamuraiha stare at her in awe for a moment.

"You're pretty," she blurted out, and quickly she stopped herself with a hand, but it was too late. Both women giggled at the girl's response while Yamuraiha simply blushed under the two's warm gazes.

"Regina used to work in a profession that required her to be very pretty," Isaac's mother explained, her explanation obviously a euphemism for Regina being a prostitute. Despite that, Yamuraiha still couldn't help but be in awe of the woman's beauty and entrancing aura that seemed to radiate from her. Was this how people felt when they met Sinbad? Utterly captivated by the strong aura they gave off, as if the Rukh itself was favoring the person?

"I like her, Delia," Regina murmured to Isaac's mother. "I wasn't sure about taking her in at first, especially since the servants are always gossiping about her, but I'm glad we did. She looks just like any toddler right now." Changing the subject, she said, "Isaac's playing with the Princess again, I heard."

"Yes...I'm not sure how that boy did it, but the Princess loves him dearly," his mother said thoughtfully. "He loves her too. He's only three, but he already told me the other day that he wants to be Princess Dunya's knight. Isn't that cute?"

"It is," Regina agreed firmly, a smile flickering over the woman's face as she bent down and patted Yamuraiha on the head. "Welcome to the family, Yamuraiha. We're glad to have you here. Even after Mira comes back, feel free to stop by here whenever you want."

Those words, as genuine but heartfelt as they were, made Yamuraiha truly grin from ear to ear. "Thank you!"

* * *

The next few days were spent in absolute bliss. Although the other castle servants continued to ignore three-year old Yamuraiha, she had found sanctuary in Isaac's home. She had met Isaac, albeit briefly, for he had quickly hurried off to meet Princess Dunya's demands, but she could tell that he was a good person.

Histok, the other roommate that Isaac's mother had mentioned she would meet, was a guard with a scary face but a gentle persona inside, although it had taken Yamuraiha several attempts to actually get the guy to smile. He reminded her of one of those typical "cool and insensitive" guys who turned out to actually have a good heart, but Yamuraiha had to remind herself that being so wasn't a bad thing. People were people, no matter how cliche or overused she thought some of their personalities were.

After a week had passed after Mira had left her, however, Yamuraiha began to grow slightly worried. Even if Mira had to take a trip to one of the seaports, she shouldn't have been taking this long. Musta'sim wasn't that big of a country. She had taken her concerns up to Regina, but the woman had simply laughed and patted Yamuraiha on the head (for some reason, adults really liked doing that to her), saying that Mira would be due any day now.

After two weeks, Yamuraiha was extremely worried (although she tried not to show it). Even Prince Nicholas, who she had rarely seen recently because she was hanging out with the servants more, had noticed her change in demeanor and had called her out on it. (" _Whatever that's bothering you, just keep being your normal self otherwise I'll start getting nervous, idiot."_ ) It was the most comfort an eight year old could offer, she supposed. Nicholas was only five years older than her, after all.

Finally, on the seventeenth night after Mira had left the palace, her caretaker had returned, ragged, tired, but undoubtedly alive. She had given a waiting Yamuraiha the brightest smile yet as she held up a bag of candy and winked. "I promised you, after all."

Yamuraiha didn't realize her legs were moving until she was already in Mira's arms.

She didn't know that she had grown so attached to her. That was bad, her mind whispered, although she pushed it away just for the moment. Just for once, she'd just savor the moment without poisoning it with darker thoughts, she promised herself as she leaned into Mira's embrace, closing her eyes peacefully.

* * *

 **Age 4**

* * *

There were several challenges and obstacles that Yamuraiha did not plan on.

One being the death of the Queen of Musta'sim, which left the Prince and Princess basically on their own as their father was busy ruling the kingdom. Yamuraiha had become the favorite of young Prince Nicholas, for some unearthly reason. Princess Dunya, she had heard, had begun to be taken care of by young Isaac's mother.

Yamuraiha cursed her failing memory: she had forgotten that Dunya's mother had died when the girl was young. At least at age 4, Yamuraiha had gained some kind of form of coordination, and she set to work with immediately writing down every last detail of Magi she remembered into a small leather notebook, given to her by Mira for her fourth birthday. She had easily swiped a pen off of Nicholas's desk (she still couldn't understand why the boy, only 9 years old now, would be doing _paperwork_ of all things) to use to transcribe her memories in.

Her guide must have been more astute than Yamuraiha had originally given her credit for, because Mira definitely knew that Yamuraiha was of above average intelligence. And thus, Mira allowed her a bit of leeway in exploring the palace, as every twenty-year old woman had her own concerns to worry about. Apparently Mira was a bit enamored by Histok, the guard that lived with Isaac's mother. She'd probably pop in to check on the lively group of servants sometime just to give them a greeting, as she sorely missed the companionship and relaxed atmosphere that they provided.

Yamuraiha briefly wondered what would become of the people that she had become acquainted with would do once the revolution occurred. It was a looming nine years away, and although that seemed like a long time, Yamuraiha could not count on time to be the same as it had been.

She had not seen Mogamett.

"Oi! Brat!"

Oh, there was Nicholas again. Dear Prince Nick, as she had 'nicknamed' him (pun intended), had surprisingly abandoned his paperwork for some reason. Maybe he had finally discovered she was the person who had unceremoniously spilled his ink all over his papers (which, by the way, were just biased documents depicting Musta'sim as the best country in the world: in reality, that was _far_ from the truth). His reaction was amusing, although she managed to escape right before he caught her.

She tilted her head, waiting for the prince to explain himself. Nick wheezed for a moment, catching his breath before he straightened up. "My sister wants a friend and the person who usually watches over her has taken to the bed in a fever. Go play with her."

Obviously displeased by his tone of voice, Yamuraiha simply raised her eyebrows for a moment as the nine year old prince blushed a bright red, muttering something about disrespectful servants before crying out in frustration, "Fine! I'll let you into the royal library freely for a day and take whatever books you want, just _please_ get her off of my case so that the tutors stop complaining. Dunya's wonderful, but I don't have the time to deal with her right now. She's the same age as you, right? Perfect. Now, follow me!"

Without a backwards glance, the green haired boy started tugging her towards the direction of his sister's room. Yamuraiha rolled her eyes, but allowed her petite frame to be dragged over to the room. In hindsight, it was probably a good opportunity if she was able to create a connection with Dunya. If she had a more powerful ally, no matter how young, it could benefit her somehow.

Then again, Dunya was the member of the royal family closest to the actual plot. And Yamuraiha honestly wanted to avoid the plot like a plague. Because...well, honestly she didn't want to spend her days slaving away for some flirty king who wouldn't give her the time of the day.

(It was funny, because Yamuraiha hadn't even realized that she was already planning for the future, despite the fact that she had been entertaining more suicidal thoughts even after her rebirth. This world fascinated her...unbound to physics, ruthless and primitive in the human civilization's ways, yet undeniably connected to her old world.)

After having plenty of time to reason to herself, Yamuraiha had decided on a path. She would still willingly run into Mogamett's arms if he would try to save her from Musta'sim's revolt. On the other hand, she had to come up with a backup plan in case she somehow managed to royally screw up and not catch Mogamett's attention. Sadly, as she had yet to see of any possible escape for a child servant to leave the palace, Yamuraiha was still working on that.

But either way, she wasn't going to die from a pathetic _revolt_ that nobody except those in Musta'sim would have heard about. If she was going to die, she would either try to drag as many people down with her in some kind of epic battle, or just go quietly due to her own causes. The ideas were so contradictory that Yamuraiha wanted to giggle at her own convoluted mind. What was she thinking? She couldn't even properly give a reason why she wanted to go out with a bang, yet wanted to go without a tiny peep at the same time.

She would avoid Sinbad like the plague. Being with that man just _begged_ for trouble, and Yamuraiha sort of wished that in her past life she had continued Magi, as she had stopped watching after _that_ incident. She had heard whispers about Sinbad and something about being Half-Fallen, whatever that meant, so _most_ likely the guy would turn out to be some final boss. It would make sense: the portrayed strongest man on the Seven Seas turned villain? That was the ultimate cliche, and Yamuraiha (despite her reclusive tendencies in her past life) was definitely genre savvy enough to know that possibility was highly likely.

"Dunya, meet Raiha. Raiha, meet Dunya." Nick introduced tersely, and Yamuraiha's teal eyes blinked in faint surprise at the nickname. At her questioning glance, he rolled his eyes and explained, "Your name's too long. And god forbid I ever call you 'Yamu' like that annoying woman."

Yamuraiha tested this new nickname, 'Raiha', on her lips, contemplating it for a moment. There was a slight foreign flare to it that made her lips twitch upwards in acknowledgement, and Nick had obviously caught this movement as he puffed out his chest proudly.

Yamuraiha turned to meet her newest companion, observing the Princess with slightly judgmental eyes. They were the same age, although Yamuraiha was slightly taller and had a more tan and healthy complexion from running around all over the place. Her stealing and teasing of the castle servants was not all for games: it also prepared her for what was to come. Although Dunya could play as much as she wanted in the sunlight with that knight of hers, Isaac, Yamuraiha was preparing for a revolt.

A war.

Once, Yamuraiha had pissed off a knight, but was delighted to see that she could outrun him long enough to hide and escape punishment. That was exactly the kind of thing she wanted to be able to do when the time came: stealthily evade.

Dunya's eyes were a beautiful shade of blue, and the girl was peering at her curiously as well, obviously examining her new companion.

There must have been something about Yamuraiha that earned her approval, for the Princess quickly brightened and clasped her hands around Yamuraiha's. "A pleasure to meet you, Yamuraiha. Please just call me Dunya."

Yamuraiha sent a helpless look towards Nick, who gave her a smug smirk and an innocent shrug before slipping out of the room, bidding her luck with his eyes. Traitor, she scowled. Leaving her with the problem of entertaining his little sister so he could head right back to work.

Sighing slightly, the girl returned the gesture, "Nice to meet you too, Dunya. If you'd like, call me Raiha."

* * *

 **A/N: Annnd we finally get our first canon character encounter. :)**

 **Also, a quick explanation on the names/nicknames as it'll become a bit more apparent in the story. 'Yamuraiha', obviously, was her birthname, which is why when we are in her sort of POV we get "Yamuraiha did this". Our character doesn't like the nickname 'Yamu' that Mira gave her, as that was the nickname the canon Yamuraiha was called, and thus you'll rarely see that pop up. 'Raiha' is the nickname that Prince Nicholas gave her, and is how Dunya (who is the one from canon and is actually the same age as Yamuraiha) will call her. Yamuraiha has no qualms with the nickname 'Raiha' as from what she knows her canon self wasn't called such.**

 **Basically, Yamuraiha doesn't want to be confused with her canon self. She isn't Yamu, and doesn't want to be exactly her, and the reminder of the fact that she stole someone else's life and isn't part of the world doesn't help with her angst issues.**

 **Anyways, thank you _so much_ for all of the amazing reviews! I read every single one, and notice every addition to the story, and it just makes me jump with joy (literally, to my family's displeasure) whenever I see one of those. ;) If you have time, do leave a review. I love hearing the feedback, and honestly there are so many routes this story can go that sometimes you guys point out stuff I didn't even realize, haha.**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Age 5**

* * *

"You're doing it wrong," Raiha said suddenly, looking up from the book she was engrossed in. Nick glanced up from his intense one-player game of chess. He had been trying to play both sides and challenge himself and provoke further thinking, but it didn't really work.

Nick was now nine years old, and Raiha five. The girl seemed to get used to the nickname after he and Dunya had called her such several times. The two of them were sitting in the library, peacefully undisturbed by pesky servants or tutors, frankly ignoring each other's presences in order to fully enjoy their own past time. "Excuse me?" He asked, turning to her. Nick did not expect for Raiha to be the one initiating the conversation.

The younger girl shifted uncertainly for a moment before shrugging and slowly getting up from her comfortable position in a velvet seat, setting her book down on the table. "If you really want to checkmate in as few moves as possible, it would be better if you did this…" She moved the knight. "They would move either here, here, or here." She tapped on a few possible spots that the king would move to.

"Predictably, if they move to one of these two spots, you can move your rook to put them in check again, or you can do the same with the third spot by using that bishop, then they'll be forced to move to here." She gestured to several positions on the board. "...and then do this." With a simple move of her _pawn_ , Raiha had put the opposing player in checkmate.

There was a moment of charged silence, as both individuals stayed still, waiting for the stalemate to be broken by one or the other.

Nick stared in dead silence at his companion for a moment, not even questioning whatever book she must have read to learn the rules of chess, as he simply set down his king and proposed, "Would you like to play a game with me?"

Raiha gave him a grin, her eyes shining with both excitement and anticipation. There was a glint in her eyes that reminded Nick of a predator's eyes, and inwardly he shivered, remaining a cool exterior as his tutors had taught him. "Alright, but just one game," she consented.

They ended up playing for at least six hours after that, finally being interrupted by one of Nick's tutors who had finally found him for his afternoon lessons. What the tutor had found was quite an amusing scene: two young children hunched over a chessboard, looking like old men who had suffered through a long war. There was a paper tallying the number of wins for both players, and just as the tutor curiously glanced over at it, the teal haired girl had set down her rook and smiled enigmatically.

"Checkmate. Raiha: 8, Nick: 7."

* * *

Yamuraiha admitted there was something satisfying about playing board games with Nick in her free time. She would never admit it out loud, but she honestly enjoyed being challenged, and despite the fact that Nick was only ten years old, he was very much a worthy opponent.

And it seemed as if he acknowledged the same of Yamuraiha.

She smiled again as she set down the checker piece (both of them had agreed to stop playing chess for a bit after the twentieth round or so), asking, "Care to try again?"

Nick sent her a glare. "Of course," he said with the pompous attitude that only a prince could have, although there was a slightly teasing tone to his words that lessened the actual seriousness. "I can't have a commoner beating me, after all. I wouldn't have the right to call myself the crown prince of Musta'sim."

Unbeknownst to both of them, smiles had curled on both of their lips.

* * *

"Take _that_ ," Nick said triumphantly, setting down his King. They were playing a board game reminiscent of the Japanese game _go_ , and Yamuraiha had completely and utterly lost. She kept miscalculating, all because of the same wretched rule she always forgot. The pieces didn't move: the player placed more on the battlefield, one move at a time. At the last moment Nick had used a saved piece in his hand to turn the tides on Yamuraiha's winning streak.

"Not fair," she said, crossing her hands over her chest almost poutily. "If this was a real battle you can't randomly send troops into the middle of the battlefield."

"If this was a real battle you should know the rules and prepare for all outcomes," Nick countered easily, still sporting a grin as he had finally beaten Yamuraiha in a board game, with him winning five games and Yamuraiha three.

"Tch." Yamuraiha was a very petty person and also was extremely competitive and defensive, a trait she shared with the original Yamuraiha. She said gruffly, "You totally got lucky. I demand a rematch."

"Don't be a sore loser, now…" Nick started, obviously enjoying his power as the two of them stiffened when the library doors slammed open.

"P-Prince Nicholas! Your father's guests are here, and he requests that your Highness and Princess Dunya to come greet them." The messenger stammered, obviously having heard the rumors of the crown prince spending an obscene amount of time holed up in the library with the magician's daughter.

Nick and Yamuraiha simultaneously scowled at having their matches interrupted, but somewhat reluctantly Nick stood up and gave Yamuraiha a nod before leaving. Curiously, she trailed after him for a few paces to see who the important guests were, since Musta'sim's Kingdom rarely attracted people of importance as most were wary of the war they were fighting against Magnoshutatt. When she met the masked man's eyes, her breath stopped as a single name identified the entire group of cloaked individuals talking to the King.

 _Al Tharmen._

That explained several things. The war, the epidemic, perhaps even the prejudice against magicians that would spark them to separate from Musta'sim and create Magnoshutatt. Maybe they even planted the seeds of the soon to be rebellion when Musta'sim's lower class would turn against the Royal family.

Shit. She had to get _out_ of this country. Yamuraiha refused to become a pawn to such an organization, and if they somehow figured out that she had knowledge of the future, the would never let her leave. Her life would be controlled even more than Judal's. As soon as her eyes met the amused golden of the masked man, she stared down at her feet in a show of submission.

 _Just please, please, please leave me alone,_ she inwardly prayed.

Her plead seemed to be working, for he simply gave her one last look before turning and greeting the King of Musta'sim, and Yamuraiha quickly took the opportunity to scurry back into the sanctuary of the library.

* * *

 _Be a darling and do this for me, my daughter. You know that everyone is watching us._

 _You won't turn out like your mother, I'm sure. After all, you're a good daughter, aren't you?_

 _I love you, my darling little girl._

 _Deathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeathdeath_

That night, Yamuraiha had nightmares of a world that she thought she had left far, far behind, along with a cold, eerie darkness whose feeling couldn't be described with anything but a single word: _death._

* * *

 **Age 7**

* * *

" _My daughter, you understand that my duties are very important, right? You know you can't be selfish…I love you, my little girl, but you understand, right?"_

" _Yeah! Daddy has to go to his very important job now," the little girl nodded her head energetically. "So I need to stay in the house and be quiet and not answer the door."_

" _Good girl."_

* * *

"What are you making?" Dunya asked curiously, sitting up from her sprawled out position in the fresh green grass as she looked over at Raiha. The teal haired girl had quickly became a favorite companion of hers, as Dunya seldom got the chance to talk to people her own age and gender, so occasionally when Isaac had training she'd call Raiha over to play with her.

Dunya had quickly discovered that her friend was similar to her older brother, in more ways than one. Both of them had a sort of sour personality, although Raiha was definitely more mischievous, and even a little...bitter, if that made sense. Dunya had observed that her friend had the same look in her eyes that the adults had sometimes, and that scared her a little bit. Besides their personality, both of them had a thirst for knowledge and respect for one another that Dunya knew she'd never earn.

Every time Dunya would enter her brother's studies and start chattering about the pretty gown their mother had worn the other night, he would give a quick nod and comment before dismissing her to do her work. Similarly, Raiha only half listened to her on such 'irrelevant', as the girl had deemed them, topics.

"Flower crowns. Scoot a little closer and I'll show you how to make them," Raiha gestured for her to come closer, a rare moment as usually the girl was too caught up in serious stuff like studying. "I used to make these a lot."

Dunya watched in amazement as her friend weaved the stems of the flowers dexterously, the ends weaving in and out of each other, before finally the girl tied a knot and the finished product was placed on her head with a pat. "You look cute," Raiha said simply, and Dunya knew this to be the truth because Raiha _never_ said anything like that without meaning it.

"Thank you!" Dunya beamed. Scrambling around the grass and picking some of the tiny flowers, she declared, "I'm going to try to make one too! For you, Raiha!" And the green haired princess couldn't help but feel a little proud at the sudden look of surprise in her friend's face.

They spent the rest of the evening laughing and giggling at Dunya's attempts to weave the flower stems as seamlessly as her friend did, and although the final product looked a little crooked and wilted, Raiha accepted the gift with a small, genuine smile. "Thanks," she acknowledged.

Dunya was beaming the rest of the week.

At the same time, Raiha had been struck by a simple thought: _I don't want to die._

She would ponder on this revelation for a long time.

* * *

Yamuraiha had been suicidal in her past life for reasons that she did not like to reminisce on. Yet somehow, in the course of only a few years in which she had met Dunya, Raiha had found a newfound interest in the world that she didn't have before.

Magic. The world wasn't ruled by Physics: people could fly on brooms that couldn't logically support their weight. People could appear and disappear wherever they wanted. Mysterious Dungeons could appear out of nothing. Just the thought of magic, a thing that she didn't even think possible in her old life, made Yamuraiha's fingers itch for a book.

She was not a fool to think that her suicidal tendencies had resided: oh, far from that. The haunting feeling of death that she felt every night and the constant nightmares did not help her mental stability, and sometimes Yamuraiha would catch herself wondering if she'd return to the Rukh or be reborn again if she were to die again. Even so, she could now hold a knife without trembling hands, and that meant something. Something about Yamuraiha had changed, and perhaps the different environment she had been exposed to had played a part in that.

But her interest in the world wasn't the only reason that had changed her. Something about Dunya, whether it be the constant smiles and giggles the girl gave her, or the 'see you tomorrow's, made Yamuraiha want to see tomorrow again. Having a friend was nice: Dunya was not yet a twisted noble who played with their people and manipulated their words, and anything she said to the girl was not judged or looked down upon. It was refreshing to talk to a person who didn't judge her based on her station or beliefs.

She couldn't say as much about Nick. Nick was sort of confusing to Yamuraiha. He was not in the original series, so she honestly didn't know what to expect from him. They often met in the palace due to her frequent wandering around and his frequent lessons, but Nick was much more aware of the state of things than Dunya. He had begun taking more loads of paperwork for him to work on, as his father began sinking the country deeper and deeper into ruin. He hadn't uttered a word of protest, but Yamuraiha knew that the boy couldn't withstand that for long. No child could.

Despite his wary nature, she had grown fond of Nick. His frequent sputtering after realizing she had pulled another prank right under his nose was amusing, and it was nice to talk to someone somewhat intellectually. Nick excelled in that. He also was mature for his age, which made it a lot easier for her to make conversation, as he wasn't someone who expected for her to ramble about fashion or the like. She respected him, and perhaps if his father wasn't such an idiot, he would've made a fine king. They weren't friends, but they were more than just acquaintances, and Dunya would be heartbroken if Nick died from stress.

She supposed a trip to her dear prince was necessary.

* * *

"What are you doing?" Nick looked up from his paperwork in surprise, unsure of what the seven year old tealette wanted. The twelve year old prince was steadily building up his reputation among the castle servants as cool and level-headed, but both of them knew that to be untrue, as proven by the numerous times when Yamuraiha had managed to piss him off.

The girl shrugged as she pulled a chair over to his desk (highly improper, his mind said, but he shoved that thought), taking one of the feather pens on his desk and dipping it in ink. "I thought that a guy like you might need some help doing the paperwork."

"...okay, did Dunya put you up to this?" Nick asked suspiciously, but quickly dismissed the thought. His little sister wasn't that aware of the more boring side of royalty, like paperwork, and he intended to keep her childhood that way. Then that probably meant that Raiha was actually doing this of her own free will, as he doubted her pesky attendant Mira could have convinced her to do this, nor the other servants she hung out with.

"Nope. I just felt like it," Raiha said easily, grabbing a pile of papers and scanning them over. "A trade negotiation with the Reim Empire? Psh, well they're just trying to rip you off on some of these terms." Swiftly but accurately, Raiha drew a line through several of the set conditions on the list. Looking up at Nick, she simply explained, "I've been reading up on a lot of legal terms recently. They're trying to make you give up a crucial part of your economy without even looking like they are, the clever dogs. Subclause 58."

Her tone of voice quickly changed to a sterner one. "Do you realize that you need to sleep more often? And does your father even check on all of these documents? You can't handle this all by yourself."

"I'm _fine_ ," Nick said, his patience wearing.

"...when was the last time you ate?" She deadpanned.

"...yesterday morning."

"Good lord, dear, take care of yourself some more." Raiha proceeded to cross out several more terms on the long trade agreement, scanning over the whole document before setting it aside in a pile and continuing to look through other documents. Although Nick did not want to admit he needed help, he grudgingly admitted that it would be nice for him to have another hand helping. He had spent two hours looking up legal terms the night before, and that only got him through a single page.

Raiha was smart, and he knew that she had a level of intelligence higher than a normal servant, which was why he allowed for her relationship with Dunya to progress. That was also why he did not utter another word of protest against her helping him, the words dying on his lips as he simply sighed in defeat.

Raiha gave him a triumphant grin.

* * *

 **A/N: As I was busy for the past week(s?) I'll address all reviews for chapter 3: (feel free to skip this if you want, although there's interesting tidbits)**

 _JaceSienna98_ : Thank you very much for the review! :) Every reincarnation fic is a bit different, but I like adding past background in my OCs, and since reincarnation fics tend to start from the beginning of their life to the end I decided for Raiha to have a bit of an interesting first life. I've noticed (in a nonstalkerish way, I swear) that you've also reviewed on a few of my other stories, so I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate it. ;)

 _Tamisin:_ Thanks for the review~ Haha, it's very fun to think of all the different possibilities. One person can only do so much, yet one person can change the world a lot depending on how they play their cards. Poor Sinbad is being ignored lol, although as the fates may have it I'm sure Raiha will meet him sometime. **Mogamett**...well, in the canon timeline they never specified the age at which he kidnapped Yamu, and in this time Raiha is much too close with royalty for him to actually sneak off with her lol. But he'll factor in the story. Somehow.

 _Nanouchy:_ Thank you for the compliment. :) I find it interesting that most of the OC stories in the Magi fandom are mainly actually OCs that live in the world, not reborn/fall-into-the-world/ripped-through-a-portal OCs haha. Not to mention the trend of Kouen/OCs I've seen recently that suspiciously looks influenced by _Marshmellowtime's_ 'Enigma' lol. Regarding **romance** (haha, I was wondering if anyone would ever ask), I'm sort of a heavy shipper. At this point, idk how it'll end up: Sharrkan is near Raiha's age group (he's 2 years younger lol), and those two will have a lot of fun interactions that I'm already planning; but at the same time...well, Raiha's also pretty mature, and so we'll see where that goes.

 **Again, thank you for all the reviews/favorites/follows/views! It means a lot to me to know people appreciate the story. :)**

 **Regarding the story, in case it wasn't clear, Raiha is still suicidal. She is. But she's put that to the side for now, and although it may not be as high in the priority list to kill herself, there's no such thing as her going "oh, I have friends: yay, don't want to die". She feels as if she is, in essence, an "Abnormality". She shouldn't exist, Yamu deserved to live her own life, and there's a whole boatload of guilt and angst that will not be washed away magically by Sinbad/Dunya/whoever-else.**

 **Thanks for all of your support. :) Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Age 8**

* * *

There were quiet, hushed whispers from the castle servants that the mysterious tower that had appeared in Partevia had been 'conquered' by a young man. Sinbad, they called him, the first 'dungeon capturer'. Yamuraiha, curious little thing, had stayed silent the whole time, humming thoughtfully under her breath.

 _It has started._

* * *

"Mira, can you tell me something?"

The golden haired girl looked towards her charge, startled. "Y-yes, Yamu. What do you need?" Usually it was Mira who initiated the conversation, not Yamu.

Yamu twitched at the nickname. Mira knew she didn't like it, but she personally thought it fit the young girl. Short and to the point, but still feminine enough: that was how Mira interpreted it, at least. "How can I find out more about the countries around us? Like, the political alliances and happenings of the other countries?" Yamu asked.

Mira pondered the notion for a moment before giving Yamu a bright smile. "Well, Prince Nick usually knows these things. I'm pretty sure we have several books about it, and if not the next time I go to the markets I can get you some. Would that be alright?"

Yamu gave her a toothy grin. "Thanks, Mira!"

Mira beamed back, but she did not notice the subtle glint in Yamu's eyes that betrayed the girl's glee.

 _Useful. Useful and interesting indeed._

* * *

"You're on kitchen duty today," a servant informed Yamuraiha, nervously glancing at the ground and attempting not to look into the girl's eyes. "The Cook's demanding helpers ever since some of those guys quit."

"Alright, thank you," Yamuraiha said swiftly, not bothering to soothe the servant's nervousness, although there was a slightly amused tone in her voice that indicated she found the servant's nature somewhat entertaining. She paused for a moment and allowed the servant to leave as she slipped on her servant's garb and made her way to the kitchen. It was highly unusual for Yamuraiha to actually be made to do something along the lines of servant work, rather than her half-babysitting of Dunya, as most of the servants still didn't associate with her.

She chalked it up to the recent resignations of the staff that must have partially had to do with fear of the growing rebellious talk among the people of Musta'sim. Even so, the Head Cook really must have been desperate if he was calling upon the eight year old he loathed most (although she doubted he knew that many eight year olds anyways: most of the servants were around sixteen or older unless they were another servant's child) to help him.

As soon as she entered the kitchen, she was overwhelmed by the strong heat and the large group of cooks rushing around the kitchen as they prepared frantically large quantities of food. The fireplace made the air extremely warm, as they probably were using it to cook bread, and the moving of bodies and various soups that were being made did not help. Barely anyone casted a glance over at her, too busy in their own work, as she had to search for the Head Chef and approach him before he finally looked up at her.

"You called?" Yamuraiha asked, taking in the warm aromas wafting from the kitchen as the cook barely spared a glance at her.

"Get to chopping the cilantro and herbs, right now," he demanded, still masterfully adding various spices into a boiling pot of soup as he spoke to Yamuraiha. "The King's expecting the same batch of guests that came over a while back to come tonight, and he wants a feast prepared. The equipment's over there, and there's a servant boy passing out the ingredients. Scram."

Yamuraiha quickly found an empty spot in the bustling kitchen where she was able to lay down several bunches of herbs that the said servant boy had given her before grabbing a large knife and a cutting board and setting to work. She barely flinched as she finished chopping up the first batch in under forty seconds as Yamuraiha motioned for the servant boy to come over while simultaneously handing the chopped vegetables to an assistant chef who was preparing some kind of rare steak.

The servant boy who looked somewhat mousy and adorable with plain brown hair and somewhat frightened brown eyes, quickly scurried to grab more ingredients as he handed them to her. The two of them worked in tandem, him delivering ingredients and her processing them, for several hours.

Yamuraiha wiped the sweat off of her brow as she inwardly sighed. Her arm was sort of sore from cutting for this long (how many people did Al Tharmen _bring_ this time for her to be making this much?) and she wasn't used to the extreme heat of the kitchens. The Head Chef briefly passed by her and gave her a somewhat acknowledging nod, the most positive kind of recognition she had gotten from him in her entire life living at the palace, before ordering her to work.

"Knead some of the dough for now and set them in the fireplace to bake. The guests will arrive soon for their meal, and the bread will be one of the first things out. My assistant chef, Sakar, has been busy monitoring the other chefs, so he hasn't finished yet." The man ordered before swiftly moving on.

Yamuraiha sighed, only pausing for a moment to grab a piece of ribbon in her pocket still left over from a visit to Isaac's mother as she tied up her hair with the aquamarine ribbon. It was so her teal bangs wouldn't get into her eyes, although she found that the motion also helped reduce the heat that her hair was trapping as well. She set to work, rolling up her sleeves as the same servant boy from before set down a lump of dough along with some other interesting cooking materials.

She was finally released from the kitchen after helping cut some fruit and beating eggs for almost another three hours for the dessert. The Head Chef had paused right before she exited the door, and Yamuraiha thought she might have heard a quiet, "You did okay" under his breath, although maybe she was just hallucinating from the numerous hours of work she had just been put through.

One of the chefs even gave her a nod when she left, while another gave her a small smile. The servant boy who she had been working with gave her a small, sheepish smile and said a bit hesitantly, "Thanks for helping us."

It made her feel a little warm inside.

Maybe Yamuraiha was finally beginning to find her place in the world.

She would return to help the kitchen staff for the many weeks following that long day of work, and soon that became an everyday routine. She wasn't exactly _friendly_ with them, but at the very least they weren't hostile to her as the other servants were anymore. Eventually she had earned their respect enough that they would even call out a, 'see you tomorrow' occasionally before she left the kitchen. It was better than the dirty glare one of the maids had given her the other day at least.

* * *

 **Age 9**

* * *

"The hell is this?" Yamuraiha picked up the dusty old book, eyebrows creased in confusion as she glanced around to see if anyone else was inside the old library. The possibility was very unlikely, as Yamuraiha was one of the few people who visited the old building, as most in Musta'sim saw learning as a form of magic that took over one's mind. Idiots.

" _The Fundamental Concepts of Magic_ ," she read out loud, and quickly she glanced around the library to see if anyone had heard her. Although she couldn't be completely sure, many of the castle staff were edgy around her to the point that they would flinch and make up a lame excuse to get away with her. The kitchen staff, Mira, Isaac's mother, Regina, and Histok weren't like that at least, but at the same time they too were a little careful with her, as if they expected her to explode. Being called a 'magician's daughter' obviously meant something, and so it was apparent to Yamuraiha that she must have been on the black list of the Musta'sim kingdom already for something she didn't have control over.

That would explain why they kept such a young girl, with no apparent connections to any other servants, in the castle even after the numerous pranks she pulled on Nick in the past. She was too dangerous to be left alone, but too dangerous to be kept too close, which explained why she never really was put to work until that one fateful day in the kitchen.

Magic was taboo in Musta'sim. If anyone saw her holding the book, much less reading it, her head would be chopped off before Dunya or Nick would be able to find out about her execution and stop it. It would be best if she put the book back where it was and pretend she never saw it, as someone would eventually discover it and have it burnt.

Yet…

Her teal eyes glanced at the book cover again, which looked so prim yet tantalizing. She had wanted to start her magical education before she actually arrived at the Magnoshutatt Academy, as it would give her more of an edge in the classes, and this was the perfect opportunity. Yamuraiha's fingers twitched, and in that moment she made a decision.

Placing the book far back in one of the shelves, she hurried back to the servants' quarters to grab her leather satchel Dunya had gifted her for her eighth birthday, along with a small piece of fabric. Making sure that no servants saw her, Yamuraiha quickly hurried back to the library, and almost hungrily she headed straight for the book and wrapped it in the fabric, stuffing it into the satchel and scanning the library for any potential lurkers. Sensing that she was alone, she quickly hurried down the hallway and up the winding staircase that led to the watchtowers, where she knew the guard on shift would be sleeping soundly.

Slipping past the sleeping guard, Yamuraiha made sure her position was secure before flipping open the cover experimentally.

" _Magic, in essence, is a physical form of magoi, energy that comes from the Rukh…"_ Yamuraiha's eyes skimmed over the book's pages, and slowly she found herself submerging into a world of wonder once again.

* * *

"I got you something for your birthday!" Dunya beamed, holding out a small wrapped package as Raiha blinked in surprise for a moment.

"I don't have a birthday," the girl deadpanned for a moment. "The servants wouldn't tell me my birthdate."

"Yeah, but I heard it was some night on the full moon, and I also heard that today you don't have as many castle chores. So I've decided today's your birthday." Dunya crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly as only a naive nine year old princess could. Raiha gave a small chuckle at that comment, but didn't stop her.

"And what other frighteningly interesting stories have you heard about me?" Raiha joked, although there was a slight glint in the girl's eyes that Dunya didn't notice.

"I heard it rained in the desert the night you were born," she chattered on gleefully. "Father happened to mention it to one of his chancellors before. I don't know why they would be talking about you for, but-"

"Dunya, are you spreading nonsense again?" Nick asked dryly, stepping closer to the two younger girls as Raiha's eyes flickered up for a moment to meet his eyes before looking towards Dunya again. Dunya pouted at her brother's appearance, as she had wished to spend her friend's birthday with just the two of them (and maybe Isaac, if she managed to convince him), and she knew that whenever Nick was around, the two would begin some kind of intellectual debate she couldn't keep up with.

"It's not nonsense. It's actually very interesting," Raiha hummed amusedly, although for some reason her eyes were looking over to her right. "Princess Dunya, please do be a dear and tell your knight to come out of the shadows."

"Eh?" Dunya turned around, and spotting Isaac standing behind a pillar and watching them cautiously, she motioned for him to come over. "Isaac! Come, join us. We're all going to celebrate Raiha's birthday."

"Are you sure, Dunya? I heard...unkind words spoken about your friend," he spoke, softly but steadily. Dunya knew that her friend had always been somewhat wary of Raiha, just because the servants always gossiped about her behind her back, but she was sure her two best friends would get along. "Although...I think that I've met her before."

"Your mother took care of me briefly," Raiha explained, and although this was new news to both Nick and Dunya (Dunya could just tell by her brother's slight change in expression that he did not know of this), Isaac seemed to accept the explanation as true.

"She does that kind of thing a lot," he admitted. "Did she try to give you a makeover?"

"Sort of. She braided my hair." Raiha shrugged, her lips twitching upwards a fraction as her eyes turned nostalgic at the memory.

"Oh! That's it! Isaac, can't we go to your mother and bake a cake? I heard that it's a tradition in other places for cakes to be made for birthdays, and although one cake doesn't substitute for a feast, well…" Dunya trailed off, not sure of what to say. Behind her, Raiha stepped up.

"Princess, with all due respect, I would rather not have a cake."

Dunya, Isaac, and Nick all turned to her in surprise. Raiha shifted uncomfortably, something painful flashing through her eyes, as she shook her head again. "No cake, please," she said quietly. "I appreciate it, though."

There was a silence for a moment as Dunya watched her brother search Raiha's eyes for something, although she wasn't sure what. It looked like her brother wasn't sure what exactly was going on with Raiha either, but unlike him, Dunya eventually dismissed any nagging feelings in her gut of something being wrong. Raiha had always been unusually mature and just plain _weird_ at times, and Dunya had gotten used to it. Nick was just overly cautious.

"Then we can make something else," Dunya concluded, not willing to be deterred, as Raiha shrugged in defeat and gave her a small smile.

"Sure." Raiha glanced up at Nick for a moment. "Don't you usually have paperwork to do?"

"Don't feel like it today," the boy said easily, although there was something in his dark gray eyes (the color came from their father: Dunya's blue eyes were inherited from her mother) that still seemed a little worried about Raiha's unusual behavior. Raiha twitched at the nonchalant response, but didn't protest any more.

Quickly, Dunya took Raiha by the hand and Isaac in the other, prompting Raiha to hold hands with Nick (much to both of their reluctance), before nudging Isaac. "Let's go visit your mother!"

Her friend seemed hesitant for a moment, but bent when he saw the pleading look in Dunya's eyes. "Okay," he assented. "If this is what you want, Princess."

* * *

"Is that _you,_ Yamuraiha? Oh, darling, how much you've grown! Just wait until Regina sees you…" Isaac's mother was about to hurry into her home and call for her long time friend before she froze, seeing the two green haired children behind Isaac and Yamuraiha. "Y-your highnesses! I apologize for my insolence, I didn't realize you two were here."

"Hello again, and sorry for barging in so suddenly," Yamuraiha apologized politely, and she could feel both Dunya and Nick's stare drilling into the back of her head. They probably didn't realize she could be anything close to polite or classy. "But Princess Dunya wanted to visit for my birthday apparently, and Prince Nick tagged along-"

"Is it alright for us to stay here?" Nick interrupted with the authority of a prince, and although it was phrased as a question there was a slight tone to it that made it sound more of an order.

"Of course, Your Highness." Isaac's mother still looked a little caught off guard, but her kind and motherly nature won over as she ushered them all inside. "Now, come. Let's make something for dear Yamuraiha's birthday together! Isaac, be a dear and tell Histok to grab some supplies from the kitchen and tell them it's on the crown Prince's orders."

Her son nodded and quickly headed off, giving Yamuraiha a wave and Nick and Dunya a bow before hurrying off. "Such a good boy," Isaac's mother murmured as she shot a bright smile at Yamuraiha. "Well, dear, is there anything you'd like in particular?"

"...cinnamon. I like cinnamon," Yamuraiha said after a moment of hesitation, and Isaac's mother's face lit up with a huge smile as she grasped Yamuraiha's hands kindly.

"That's wonderful! We have a lot of cinnamon left over from the last time Histok went to town."

"Is it okay if I help?" Dunya asked quietly, not exactly sure how to deal with Isaac's mother. Dunya was probably used to being the person who made decisions, and plus her mother had died when she was very young, so it was obvious that some things would be different.

"Of course, dear. Now, grab a bowl and Prince Nicholas, please be a dear and grab some of the eggs I left on the counter. Yamuraiha, I assume you know how to make a cinnamon pound cake?" Isaac's mother asked, her hands already busy as she measured some water in a cup.

"Yeah," Yamuraiha replied as she helped Nick beat and stir the eggs before helping Dunya pour the water and sprinkle the cinnamon over the growing mixture. Isaac had quickly returned with some other ingredients, and his mother had immediately put him to work. There was a wonderful feeling of camaraderie that accompanied the baking as the group laughed and chuckled over their many failures and successes, and even though the pound cake in the end was slightly lopsided, all of them ate it vigorously with smiles on their faces.

(Later, Dunya would give Raiha her present, and the green haired girl couldn't help but delight in the surprised look on her friend's face when she stared at the simple teardrop shaped necklace and silently put it on, promising solemnly to always wear it. Dunya didn't know, but that was the first gift...the first kind of actual, physical _recognition_ that 'Raiha' actually existed in this world.)

* * *

 **A/N: A huge thank you to all of you guys who are reading this. Thank you to all of the favorite-ers and followers: I notice each addition, and it makes me really happy to know you guys are reading this. :D**

 **A special thanks to my reviewers: _Nanouchy, Aqua Lilly,_ Guest, and _Animanga-chan._ You guys are what keep me going.**

 **Sorry for the long wait haha, but I hope you liked some of the Dunya interactions and stuff going on. Also, Sinbad reference in the beginning. The start of the AoS plot. ;D**

 **Thanks for reading! Drop by a review if you have time, please.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Oh. My. God. This chapter was actually _longer_ than my longest chapter in one of my other stories, _Soar_ , despite the other chapter being _action_. And bro, this is like...skipping through a bunch of scenes.**

 **I'm not sure how many of you are involved with my other stories or have checked my profile, but right now real life is overwhelming me. Luckily I had most of this already written, but it may be a while before the next update.**

 **Actual word count: 5817.**

* * *

 **Age 9 (continued)**

* * *

It was late morning, long after a rigorous routine of meditation and unsuccessful attempts at magic, when Yamuraiha was met by an ecstatic looking Mira. Her blonde longtime companion was nearly bouncing on her heels as she delivered the news, almost completely in one breath.

"The King is declaring a day off for all of the servants in honor of the anniversary of the fifth year of his wife's passing," Mira exclaimed, grasping Yamuraiha's hands excitedly as she relayed the news. "Everyone's getting a day off: the cooks, the maids, and even the guards, since they've shortened their shifts. I was thinking that we could go visit Histok and the rest of our friends."

Yamuraiha knew that she was _definitely_ grinning very widely, as Mira huffed and lightly punched the girl on the shoulder. "Don't give me that look," she scolded, but the blonde's face was considerably redder than before. "I just think it'd be good for you to socialize more, and I haven't talked to Regina recently."

At Yamuraiha's knowing smirk, Mira finally gave up and just decided to drag her charge towards the direction of Isaac's mother's house. "Come on, you," she muttered.

Yamuraiha grinned.

.

.

"Ah, Histok, it's Yamuraiha and Mira!" Regina proclaimed, throwing open the door and pulling the two girls inside. "Just in time to help us with the almond cookies. Come inside, come inside you two. It's so nice to see you again, little Yamuraiha."

From in the kitchen, Yamuraiha could hear a small laugh coming from Isaac's mother. The woman popped her head out, giving Yamuraiha and Mira a warm smile as she beckoned for them to come closer. Her hands were dusted with flour, and the ivory white powder was spilt all over the kitchen floor as well. Yamuraiha glanced around the small kitchen, noting that all the occupants were covered in flour from head to toe.

"...we're trying to make almond cookies for most of the staff," Isaac explained, simply and shortly. "I think they're also trying to do some kind of coconut pastry, but it looks more like a lump of goop."

Histok let out a groan and attempted to brush some of the flour out of his hair, only managing to instead spread more flour on his hair with his hands. He blushed a furious red when Mira wandered over to him and attempted to help him, although the golden haired girl was a similar shade.

Even Regina, beautiful and kind Regina, was covered in flour, although she seemed much more at ease with it than the two male occupants of the room. Isaac's mother attempted to hoist a fallen flour bag back up on the counter, but only succeeded in dropping it again, resulting in a cloud of flour enveloping the entire room and covering it with a thin white layer.

Yamuraiha couldn't help it: she _giggled_. She actually, legitly and childishly, giggled, and that action caused both Histok and Isaac to glance warily at her. It was as if they were expecting her to explode or begin to tell them that they looked like idiots, and ordinarily Yamuraiha would have happily pointed out how stupid they looked, but unfortunately she was also covered in flour from Isaac's mother's attempt at managing the flour bag. Glancing at Mira, the two nodded in unison, an unspoken message passed between the two girls.

Slowly, almost methodically, Yamuraiha rolled up her sleeves and allowed Regina to tie her hair up in two ponytails for her, deciding to put her kitchen experience to best use.

.

After they had finished baking successfully not only almond cookies, but the coconut pastries Isaac had mentioned earlier, they had donated a large amount of the sweets to the sour guards who had to stay on duty to protect the palace. It was nice, especially when one guard thanked her and another complimented her on the teardrop necklace she wore around her neck.

.

 _For years to come, Yamuraiha would associate sweets and baking with some of her happiest moments from her childhood, just barely above board games._

* * *

" _Sharrar,"_ she murmured, concentrating very hard. Yamuraiha hoped that some magical mist would appear out of nowhere, but her plan was not working very well. She knew that it was risky to try to perform magic in the castle, but she couldn't resist the temptation for very long. At the very least, she was working in a secluded glade out in the palace gardens that Dunya had showed her once. She had finished her kitchen work extra early, and before the cook could protest, had slipped away. There were perks to being the favorite servant of the royal family.

Yamuraiha wasn't sure if she could actually command the Rukh without using a staff of some kind, but there wasn't any way for her to obtain it. She was in a country that banned magic itself. She didn't recall any magicians who didn't use some sort of wand or staff to assist them in casting spells, but barehanded was the best she could do.

So far, her efforts had been proven fruitless. However, Yamuraiha supposed that she couldn't expect results very quickly, and resolved to keep trying. She had taken her hand at meditation as well, as the book advised for a level mindset in order to truly become one with the Rukh. She was lucky enough that she wasn't a person who needed a lot of sleep, because Yamuraiha typically slept for five hours before waking up in the early morning to meditate and attempt to do spells before heading off to do whatever menial labor the servants had set out for her for the day. Mira didn't come to check on her until five.

"Dangit, I thought that Water Magic would be sort of easy since Yamuraiha…" She trailed off. She didn't like being reminded of the life that she had stolen. Yamu was a genius Water Magician. Raiha, or Yamuraiha, on the other hand, was not. Yamuraiha preferred the nickname 'Raiha' over 'Yamu', as just thinking of her alternate self made her always want to compare.

Yamuraiha tried again, this time focusing much more on the atmosphere around her. Although there was still no result, she almost felt a...buzz around her, as if the Rukh itself was buzzing wildly. But that was probably her imagination, she concluded, closing her eyes. Only Magi could see the Rukh, and Yamuraiha was afraid of what would happen if she did.

Seeing the Rukh would be a burden. Knowing the nature of someone just from the air around them...she would much rather find out about them herself, and be wary of all. Not only that, but Yamuraiha had a dark feeling that the Rukh surrounding her would not all be pure.

She was an Abnormality.

This version of Yamuraiha, 'Raiha', did not deserve to exist again. Seeing as Raiha did not want to die, she supposed she had to live. And if she was going to live, instead of erasing the anomaly of Raiha that lived in this world, she was going to live right. If she had stolen Yamu's life for her own, the least she could do was live it to the fullest. She would redeem her existence itself: that was her one and only goal.

"One more time," she hissed. Yamu had used her wand...staff...thing to fly. Flying _defied Physics_ for god's sake. Surely Raiha could perform magic without using a wand. She refused for the _past three months_ of waking up early to amount to nothing, they _couldn't_ amount to nothing. It could not. She wouldn't just _guide_ the Rukh, for God's sake, she was going to _command_ it. It would _bow_ to her if she had to make it do so to perform magic. This time, pure anger fueled her as she shut her eyes, concentrating as she murmured, " _Sharrar._ "

 _Hisssssss._

Yamuraiha's eyes flew open, and her jaw dropped as she saw the faintest bit of mist forming around her. It wasn't perfect, and the anger probably made her spell work worse, but it was still a start. "...yes. Yes. _Yes!_ " She jumped up into the air, pumping her fist up triumphantly. "I did it, finally! I did it!"

She was so caught up with her victory that she did not notice that someone was approaching, so Yamuraiha was completely caught off guard when she heard a voice. The footsteps stopped in their tracks.

"...Raiha?"

Yamuraiha froze immediately at the familiar nickname. Her mind whirred with thoughts. _She was caught she was caught she was caught she was done for they were going toexecuteherandshewould-_

"Raiha, what are you doing?" Nick asked warily. The green haired boy stepped closer to her, his hands shaking slightly as he watched the mist warily, as if it was a curse. Knowing the way that the prince must have been brought up, he probably _did_ think that it was a curse. "Was that just...magic?"

She had fallen silent, her mind running so fast that she couldn't keep up. Yamuraiha's blue bangs shielded her eyes, but her silence was enough for Nick to conclude what his longtime companion (she had refused to use the title 'friends', as that would imply they were on amiable terms: and their rivalry when it came to board games indicated nothing of the sort, and had refused the title 'enemies' because they knew they were more than that) had done.

"Raiha...do you realize what you have done?" His voice raised in panic. "Magic is outlawed in the kingdom, you idiot! And you, you especially...they've been watching you for signs of magic because of your father. How can you be so stupid? Why would you put yourself at risk?"

Her ears were still buzzing as instead of the partly shocked, partly exasperated, and partly angry face of Nick in front of her, she saw and heard different words from a different life. (" _They're gone! They're gone...and they're not coming back. Why do you keep hurting yourself? How can you be so stupid? You're free now...you're free..."_ )

" _I wanted to!"_ Her sudden reply left him stopping in his tracks. Her voice broke as she repeated, her fierce teal eyes meeting his surprised stormy gray. "I wanted to, okay?"

"I thought you were…" His voice broke off as he shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Never mind. We need to get you away from here before they notice...you'll be killed, Raiha. Neither Dunya nor I will be able to stop it."

"Why would you care?" She threw back, and Yamuraiha knew that she was just digging a deeper hole for herself but she couldn't find the will to stop talking.

"We are your friends," he said firmly, and that sudden confirmation of status was enough to throw Yamuraiha for a loop as she simply blinked at him in surprise for a moment. A red, heated blush spread over his face as he looked away, face contorted into a scowl. "What, do you want me to repeat that again for you?"

"N-no, I just didn't expect…" Yamuraiha really didn't think that they were that way. She was just Raiha, the girl who was not a part of this world. She wasn't someone who actually deserved to have friends: she had stolen this life for her own. She didn't belong here.

There was a brief moment of silence as Yamuraiha just watched Nick's face grow redder and redder.

"Ah, just forget it," Nick said quickly. "But we need to get you out of here. I suspected that something like this might happen, especially since you were always sneaking off somewhere during the morning-"

"How'd you know?" She blurted out, and the boy gave her a flat look. Ah, right. Forgot that he was a crazy super-prince that woke up at early hours to do paperwork. She usually helped him with that in the evening now, after she finished all her chores as a servant. He probably noticed her absence every once in awhile. A bitter laugh resounded from her. "Well, I've been found out."

"This isn't funny," he hissed, shoving the girl along. "I've alerted Isaac and Dunya. You're going to be heading out of this country as soon as possible. Head to the Central Desert. Heck, head to Balbadd. Just get out of my father's reach, or he'll have you…"

Yamuraiha never got to hear him finish his sentence, as the world turned black.

* * *

.

.

.

* * *

" _Fuck_ ," Yamuraiha swore in her first and native tongue. Luckily no country in the world spoke English, or she might have been in more trouble than she already was in. Groggily, she opened her eyes and immediately took in the situation. The room was completely white, and she was strapped to a completely white chair. Were they going to try the white room treatment on her?

If so, Yamuraiha was going to just call bullshit and meditate. She could handle a bit of isolation: she'd suffered through plenty of that in her past life.

"I am not sure of what you just said, but I don't think it was very pleasant," a voice said behind her. Yamuraiha inched her head to the right, and her eyes widened.

"King Al-Qadir," she addressed as respectfully as she could, although a bit of sarcasm seeped into her voice as she met Dunya and Nick's father's eyes. "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

"You must be wondering why you are here and not dead," he mused, and Yamuraiha immediately flinched. He paused for a moment, his eyes undeniably hard as he examined her from head to toe. He continued to stroll back and forth in the room, his paces almost mesmerizing as her eyes followed him. Finally, he stopped pacing as he stood still, saying, "Well, to answer, my daughter and son have both taken a liking to you, although I can not discern why. Perhaps you bewitched them."

"I would never," she hissed at the accusation, her pupils dilating. Although the words felt slightly unnatural on her tongue, the slight edge of affection that leaked into her voice was true. "Princess Dunya and Nick...Prince Nicholas are my friends."

"No matter." The king easily waved away the matter, and he stepped a bit closer to her. "It would be terrible if Dunya would begin to ignore me or cry just because I killed off her little magician friend. But at the same time, I can not let you go alive as long as you are a threat to Musta'sim. What, now you might say, should I do? Kill you and be done with the matter? Or let you go?"

Yamuraiha stayed silent for a moment, but years of experience with politics from her past life ( _smile, my dear_ , her father's voice whispered in her mind) helped her make her decision easier. She had to remain calm, keep her emotions concealed. Any kind of information at this point was extremely important and essential to her survival. Clearing her eyes of any fear, a small smirk crawled over her features. _Self confidence._ She straightened her posture and smoothened out her facial features to a neutral expression as she leaned in closer to him. "I propose a deal."

"A deal?" The man looked amused, as if he already had predicted she would do such a thing. Yamuraiha was undeterred.

"You are losing the war against Magnoshutatt," she stated bluntly. She closed her eyes, recalling all the knowledge she had gained through accessing castle gossip through Mira, as well as the tidbits of information she had gleaned from long hours of working with Nick on the country's paperwork. "Your own people are against you, and the people of the court can not be trusted. My allegiance is not to you, but your children. However, it is undeniable that I am a magician, and a well-known magician's daughter."

Seeing that the man would not interrupt her, Yamuraiha took a deep breath and prepared to seal her fate. She was about to make a deal with the devil, sell her soul to a cause that she didn't particularly care about, sign up for a life of deceptions and lies. (Then again, her past life wasn't too different.) "I can get into Magnoshutatt," she said quietly.

There was a glint in the man's eyes now, a terrifying, predator's glint.

It was mirrored in Yamuraiha's own eyes.

There was a silence for a moment.

"You will get into Magnoshutatt," he said silkily. "And say that you escaped certain death from execution thanks to the help of some reckless and well-hearted servants. You will learn their secrets, you will climb up in the ranks until they can do nothing but tell you their secrets. And if you do not return, well…" The man trailed off for a moment.

Yamuraiha inwardly smirked. There was nothing the man could really hold against her, as Dunya and Nick couldn't be hurt. She was about to earn her freedom-

"What about your dear attendant's head as a price?" The man finished, his eyes looking like a snake's. "Or perhaps dear Isaac's mother?"

...damn her conscience.

"Three conditions," she said after a long moment of silence and contemplation. The tides had been turned significantly, and Yamuraiha honestly did not expect for the King to actually know about her connections with the other servants. A severe miscalculation, and one that she would pay for dearly. However, it was Yamuraiha who was doing the favor for him. They could kill her, execute her in the most excruciatingly cruel way possible. However, she knew he wouldn't. Not after the deal she had proposed.

"One, you do not contact me. I contact you. I can't have them suspecting me in the case that your men slip up. I can figure out the way things go around there. Two, you will not touch a hair on neither Mira nor Isaac's mother, nor any of the other servants that I have come into contact with. Three, our contract has a time limit. I will supply you with information until whenever this war ends, but after I am free. With no constraints, with no connections to this country."

"This sounds horribly one-sided," the King mused.

"You'll take the deal," she stated confidently. The two of them locked gazes, and despite the fact that her physical appearance made her look much smaller and younger than the King, she still held her ground admirably.

Finally, after another long period of silence in which Yamuraiha simply held her breath and hoped, the King nodded his head in assent before turning around and exiting the room with a flourish, signalling for the guards to release her constraints.

Yamuraiha, despite being released from the heavy chains that held her body immobile, felt as if there were even heavier weights settling on her body.

* * *

Skill took time. Both Yamuraiha and the King knew that, and that was why he allowed for her to stay in the palace for two more months before she would be sent to Magnoshutatt as a spy.

In the meanwhile, the King had gathered all banned magic books that he had not ordered to be destroyed just for Yamuraiha to learn from.

Although she still lived in the palace, she was kept on close watch by two guards, and she was not allowed to make contact with Dunya nor Nick. The King had given her a staff, made of tempered steel. The staff in some way reminded her of one of those hooked swords from China, as it curved inwards into a hook, but instead of a sharp pointed bottom, the staff was decorated with several intricate runes that Yamuraiha had ordered etched into the metal surface. If she brushed her hands over the runes, they seemed to glow for a moment.

" _Sharrar,_ " she held out the staff, focusing on channeling her concentration solely on the tip of the staff as she closed her eyes, willing the Rukh to condense and form the eerie mist it had on that day. Slowly peeking her eyes opened, a grin spread across Yamuraiha's face as she noted that the mist was much thicker today, almost completely blocking her vision of what was behind it. She had basically gotten the hang of _Sharrar_ after two or so days following the incident, and quickly Yamuraiha had begun to improve after figuring out how to cast the spell. She couldn't _use_ the Rukh, only guide it to its destination and will it to do as she wished.

The only problem was getting the Rukh to follow her guidance...she felt as if it did not want to be guided nor manipulated, and at those times she would _command it_. _Force it_ to follow her. (Honestly, Yamuraiha would have made a terrifying tyrant of a ruler if she wanted to be, but nonetheless she would never go down the path of becoming a King nor Queen: she liked to be in control, and she knew once she had that power she would never let it go.)

After figuring out that key concept, it had been much easier for Yamuraiha to figure out the rest. She was, after all, an adult in a child's body, and if she had the mindset, it was only the physical strength she really was missing. And even that was beginning to not be as large of a disadvantage than she originally thought, as Yamuraiha still kept in exercise by darting around the palace grounds.

Water Magic wasn't the only thing that Yamuraiha was trying to focus on, however. She recalled from the book she had read that Blue Magicians were usually well suited to Sound Magic as well, and thus she had been trying a few spells that the books had. There was even a trick where she could use sound waves to implant suggestion in someone's brain through the nervous system, and that fascinated Yamuraiha to no end. She recalled something along the lines of one of Sinbad's djins being able to manipulate his men's minds, although it was hard for her to conjure the exact memory of that. Time dulled everything, after all.

Yamuraiha was able to create a Borg with little to no problem now. If she closed her eyes and just concentrated a little, a glowing yellow sphere would encase her before she knew it. The only true command she had to give was for the Rukh to concentrate around her enough so that it could manifest strong enough to become visible and usable to the naked eye. Then, she could order it to resist any attacks and attempts at moving it. That was a useful spell in its own way: Yamuraiha was sure there were other ways she could use it in order to be more efficient. Perhaps she could attempt to create a Borg around something other than herself and even trap it, like water. It would be interesting if she could turn a shield into a prison. Who knew how many uses it could have in the future for her?

A servant approached her, looking slightly apprehensive but haughty at the same time. Ah, wait, Yamuraiha recognized him. He wasn't a servant: it was the King's Royal adviser, Ekhbar if she recalled correctly. It was whispered that he had the most power in the palace after the King, as he was the person who always whispered I'm the King's ears during meetings. Yamuraiha had suspected that he was planted by Al Tharmen for a while, and immediately she was on her guard.

"Lord Ekhbar, if I'm not mistaken?" She acknowledged, bowing her head a degree in respect, not allowing any suspicion to play on her face.

"I should feel surprised you know my name, lowly magician daughter, but I'm afraid I don't. I have heard plenty of delicious rumors about you, although to my annoyance that pesky King still hasn't allowed me to see you." The man leered over her, his brown eyes flashing with something akin to insanity for a moment before they reverted back into their original state. Yamuraiha only caught the look because too often in her past life she had seen the same thing in the mirror.

...oh, yeah. There were rumors of the adviser being a paedophile, but she actually didn't believe in those rumors until she saw the glint in the man's eyes. Bluntly, while keeping a straight face, she asked, "Do you like children, Lord Ekhbar?" (Yamuraiha had always had a strange sense of humor in her past life.)

The man did not look taken aback at the comment, which made a small part of Yamuraiha disappointed because she really wanted to see the man unnerved. She wasn't a complete sadist, although she did take amusement whenever she was the person manipulating the situation. "I do not like them in the way that you are implying, my dear," he answered smoothly, his lack of a reaction earning some respect from Yamuraiha. "But I am very interested in people like you."

"People like me...servants? Magicians? People ostracized from civilization?" Yamuraiha guessed, and although she should have been prepared for what came next she still found herself flinching at his answer.

"Abnormalities, little girl." The man answered, his hands beginning to tremble from either anticipation or excitement...or both. "They told me that the Rukh acted unnaturally strange around you, but I hadn't expected something like this…"

Yamuraiha tried to hide the myriad of emotions she was feeling in that one moment by instead continuing the conversation. "Like…" she prompted, her heart racing. This information...this information was important. It was the answer she had been searching for: why was she in this world? What would her presence do to it? _How?_

"The Rukh...with Magi, the Rukh is drawn towards them. With you, it almost feels as if they shy away from you. So, so interesting," he murmured, and in that moment Yamuraiha realized that she was probably in danger and had to get away. Al Tharmen would undeniably use her for their own benefit if they realized that she had foreknowledge of the world. It seemed as if they had figured out that something about her existence was... _off_ , but none of them could predict something as outlandish as reincarnation from a world where this world's future was already sealed.

Lord Ekhbar must have noticed her change in behavior, for he said easily, "Rest, child, for I have been ordered not to harm you. I have come to tell you that you will be sent to the magicians tonight."

... _tonight?_

Flashes of all of the faces that she would have to leave behind flew through her mind as unknowingly, Yamuraiha's grip on staff tightened.

"Yes. Gather your things, and you'll be escorted out tomorrow morning at the break of dawn. You will be provided a map, whatever meager amount of food the kitchen will provided, and a hood. That is all."

* * *

It was sometime deep into the night when Yamuraiha's teal eyes opened, and with as much grace and finesse that she could muster, she slipped out of her room. The hallways were dark, dimly lit only by candles mounted to the wall and spaced out about one every five feet. She looked around for guards, but seeing that there were none, she made her way to her destination.

Turn left, then right, then slip into the kitchen and head to the third table. She moved quietly, making sure to keep her footsteps light as she creaked open the hidden passage that she had discovered once while helping in the kitchen.

She entered the dark passage and made her way down several paces before stopping in front of a wall and pushing it open a smidge. Yamuraiha waited for a few moments, listening with her breath held for any sounds of guards or such, but when she heard nothing, she proceeded to enter the room.

"Why are you here?" The voice almost asked immediately, and she couldn't help but feel a smile quirk at her face from hearing his voice again.

"What, can't I visit my favorite prince?" She drawled slowly, keeping her voice quiet.

"I am fairly certain that I am the _only_ prince you know." Nick said, pushing himself upwards and out of bed as he stood up to observe her. "You don't look _too_ different. I would have expected something...more."

She let out a breathy laugh, one that seemed to lift several of the weights on her heart. He didn't hate her, despite her being a magician. That thought made Yamuraiha's heart soar. "I'm leaving at dawn for Magnoshutatt," she stated simply, and although it was dark in the room, she swore she could see Nick's eyes darken.

"I heard," he said swiftly. "Have you talked to Dunya?"

"Nope. They've been keeping a close eye on me, after all," Yamuraiha replied, although her eyes flickered over to the passageway that she had entered his bedroom through. "Although if I have time...no, it would be better not to involve her with me any more than she needs to right now. But I know you, and so I had a favor I wanted to ask of you while I'm gone…"

"Take care of Isaac's mother and all of the other servants you interacted with?" Nick guessed, ever observant as she allowed herself to smile at that. He really did know her.

"That," she confirmed. "And also, take care of yourself and Dunya."

At this point, Yamuraiha hesitated. She knew that in a few years there would be a revolt, and the royal family would be killed. But if she informed Nick, she knew that she would not be able to escape from the grasp of Al Tharmen. Never. But Nick was intelligent enough, and he had spent enough time with her to understand that everything she said had a meaning. "There are shadows in the castle," she said solemnly, and at this Nick's eyes seemed to sharpen. "Beware."

Yamuraiha forced a smile onto her face as she turned around and rested her hand on the secret entrance. "There was a time when I was helping out the cook with some soup. I happened to turn away for an instant, and although I thought that things would be okay, the soup boiled over. Don't be stupid."

"...then _you_ shouldn't be stupid either, Raiha," Nick said slowly after a moment of silence. "My father…"

She stopped him before he could say anything else as she gave him a smile, half bitter and half resigned as they met eyes. His stormy gray orbs and her aquamarine blue. The world seemed to stop in that moment as they both stared at each other for a moment, unspoken words being exchanged through their movements alone as she said simply, "Thanks. I won't."  
She pushed the entrance open, but hesitated for a moment and whispered under her breath, "I'll miss you."

She knew he heard her, but she slipped out before he could reply.

* * *

It turned out that Yamuraiha didn't have time to say goodbye to Mira, Dunya, or any of the others. She had barely returned to her room before there had been a knock on the door. She made sure to make a show of waking up as the door opened, but froze as she recognized the figure.

"Histok," she whispered, identifying the knight that had lived with Isaac's mother. The young man gave her a half smile and a wink as he motioned for her to come with him. She followed him and the other soldier that was next to him, staff in one hand and a small pack in the other. Her eyes glanced up at Histok in slight surprise. "Why?" she asked.

"It was the least I could do. I switched with one of my other friends who wasn't going to escort a magician out. Delia...Isaac's mother, and Regina wanted to say goodbye. They wanted to let you know that you'd always be welcome with us. And Mira...she's not taking your forced exile very well," Histok said hurriedly under his breath.

"Histok…" she said, and that caught his attention. "Take care of them. Protect them, please. I'm going right now, but I...I will be back. I will be back for them, I promise. Tell them that."

The man cracked a wry smile at her, but there was some kind of sad glint in his eyes that gave away his inner turmoil. "Yeah. I'll protect them, I promise."

Yamuraiha was surprised once again as she recognized yet another figure standing at the gate. It was the boy in the kitchen that she had worked with frequently. He looked the same as when she first met him: timid, quiet, but still committed to his task.

The kitchen boy held out a bag of food. The size of the bag was much larger than she expected, and when she looked inside Yamuraiha recognized several of the goods. Most of them were the specialties of each of the cooks that worked in the kitchen. Several of the pastries that she had stolen as a young child were also included in the sack, and she could immediately tell the it was the Head Cook, Albert, who had made them by the intricate frosting decorations on top.

She felt tears well in her eyes, but refused to let them fall. "Thank you," she whispered hoarsely, and the kitchen boy gave her a smile.

"We'll miss you," he said softly. "The cooks were making them all last night when they heard you were being taken away." Castle gossip, it seemed, got around extremely quick.

Yamuraiha couldn't help it: a mischievous grin slipped on her face as she couldn't resist to mess with her guide and friend as she turned to Histok again. "You know," she said casually, grip tightening on the bag of goods to make sure they didn't fall. "Mira likes you."

"I know," Histok grumbled, looking away embarrassedly just like the _tsundere_ she knew him to be deep down. His face seemed to redden even further as he muttered, "Stop grinning like that."

"Heh," she couldn't help but laugh. Slinging the bag across her shoulder and gripping onto her staff tightly, she turned back around and towards the path that would lead her away from the castle. "See you later," she called over her shoulder, her feet moving quickly even though they felt as heavy as lead.

And then she left.

From the castle, high above at the top of a spiraling tower, two green haired members of the royal family stood in front of the window, watching silently. The younger of the two stifled a sob before hugging her brother, while the taller and elder one muttered under his breath, "Stay safe, idiot."

 _Goodbye._

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you guys. So, so much. I appreciate all of your support, and _woah_ is this story picking up a lot of speed or what? 87 follows and 64 favorites? You guys are _amazing_ , and I can never express my gratitude to ya'll.**

 **Do drop a review if you have time. :D I'm always open for new viewpoints and ideas. I actually have a question: what would you guys like (or think) will happen to Nick, Dunya, and all of the servants Raiha's befriended? I have a lot of different ideas, so it'd be nice to hear some feedback.**

 **Thanks for reading! :) Until next time.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Heyyyy, look who's back. Missed me? ;D**

* * *

 **Age 9 (continued)**

* * *

"Who're you?"

"A traveler," Yamuraiha said wearily, struggling to keep her eyes open. She had been travelling across the Great Desert for the past few days, and the scorching heat of the Sun along with her dwindling supply of water definitely had taken its toll. Yamuraiha happened to stumble upon a desert village just on the border of Magnoshutatt and Musta'sim right when she was at the edge of exhaustion. "P-please let me…"

Her vision was turning black when she heard the sound of hooves and felt an ominous presence nearing. _Al Tharmen._ Rapidly, she grabbed the sleeve of the figure standing before her. "D-don't let them find me...please…"

Before she could hear the person's reply, Yamuraiha's world dissolved into darkness.

.

.

.

.

.

"—don't even know who she is."

"But...can't just…"

"—Musta'sim...why..."

Yamuraiha groaned, trying to lift her eyelids, and whoever was talking fell silent. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, and she took in her surroundings. She was laying on a bed made of crisscrossing springy branches, and the ceiling was a brown color. Using her right arm, Yamuraiha propped herself upwards, eyes blinking from the sudden exposure to light.

"Where?" She started, but her throat was too parched to continue. Her head was aching, whether it be from dehydration or exhaustion or both. As if reading her mind, someone handed her a glass of water.

"Sleep, child," a gentle voice said. "We will take care of you."

Yamuraiha fell asleep again.

.

.

.

.

.

"Hey, are you awake? Hey, hey…" A voice called, and Yamuraiha felt pressure on her cheek. She moaned, rolling to her side and taking in the sight of an adolescent boy sitting next to her bedside.

"I am now," Yamuraiha grumbled, blinking several times. Dazedly, she struggled to regain her senses, and she managed to croak, "Where...where am I? What happened?"

"You're still in the village. My grandma and I have been taking care of you for the past three days." The boy, who she estimated to be around fourteen (give or take a few years), was dressed in white, loose robes. His eyes were a stunning color of violet, a feature not commonly found in both Magnoshutatt and Musta'sim, but his dark black hair and olive skin tone were the same shade that most desert locals had. Handing her a glass of water, which Yamuraiha gratefully accepted, he gave her a _look_.

Yamuraiha was used to being given looks after all of those days spent in the castle, but the look that he had was more of curiosity than disdain. "My name's Sera, age twelve. I like mysteries and solving them. My current favorite past-time is researching magic, although trying new kinds of food is a close second. Or running. Not sure which one I like better. I hate beetles," he introduced himself quickly. And by quickly, Yamuraiha meant that the entire introduction was spit out in only one breath. "I think that there must be a reason why those shady guys were looking for you, and so I'm _kindasortareallycuriousaboutit_. And what's with the Rukh around you? Why does your staff keep rejecting my grandma and I whenever we try to move it? And who are you?" He asked, finishing.

Her teal blue eyes just stared blankly at him for a moment. "...I'm sorry, come again?"

"I said, my name's—"

"Not that part," Yamuraiha cut him off irritably. Realizing that she sounded a bit rude, she amended, "Sorry, Sera...that's your name, right? I'm just a little out of it right now. But what were you saying at the end? About the Rukh? You can see it?"

Sera gave her a ' _no duh'_ look, the expression shocking Yamuraiha for mainly two reasons. One, she was already starting to be able to read his body language and expressions. Two, well...she had assumed that only Magi could see the Rukh. "And I assumed that you were a Magician with that staff of yours," Sera muttered. "Of _course_ I can see it: only Goi—that's the term for people without magic—can't. And I've been training to get into Magnoshutatt's Academy."

 _...oh._

Well, Yamuraiha had epically failed somewhere with her research. She couldn't see anything that seemed akin to the fluttering...glowing...butterfly things that had been portrayed in the anime, so Yamuraiha had just assumed nobody else could see the Rukh as well. Smacking her forehead inwardly, she cursed herself for making such an assumption. Although it _was_ interesting how she couldn't see the Rukh...maybe it was because she was reborn? Did that have something to do with it?

"—and yeah," Sera finished triumphantly, but when he noticed Yamuraiha's expression he deadpanned, "You weren't listening to me, were you?"

"Not really," Yamuraiha replied bluntly.

"I get that response a lot." Sera shrugged casually, looking unperturbed. "I talk a lot."

 _Yeah, I've kind of noticed._

Biting back her instinct snarky remark, Yamuraiha instead chose to focus on the questions he imposed on her. "So...you say you can see the Rukh," the teal haired girl said slowly. "Can you tell me what exactly about the Rukh around me looks weird?"

"Well...normally the Rukh's just _there,_ fluttering around everyone, you know? But with you...it's kind of like…" Sera's nose scrunched in concentration as he tried to find a way to describe it. "They're trying to flutter _away_ from you, if that makes any sense. It's kind of like you have this aura of 'non-Rukh-ness'? Like, an empty sphere around you where the Rukh should be attracted to."

"I see," Yamuraiha mused. Indeed, this account sounded similar to that of Lord Ekhbar, the crazy not-a-paedophile Al Tharmen associate had told her before she left. Remembering her manners (because despite it being nine years since her past life, social etiquette was still ingrained in her somewhere), Yamuraiha said, "I'm Ya...Raiha. Nine years old, escapee from Musta'sim, and currently also hoping to get into Magnoshutatt's Academy."

"Ah, that's awesome! I mean, the part about wanting to get into the Academy, not the part about you being an escapee. I didn't think I'd actually meet anyone else around my age who'd want to: everyone in the village's always discouraged me. Except Grandma." The last part was tagged on afterwards, like an afterthought. Sera beamed at her. "Do you have a magic you specialize in? Are you a...red magician?"

"You know about the different classes of magicians, yet still haven't gotten into the Academy?" Yamuraiha asked, slightly impressed. From what she recalled, the series first explained those when Aladdin was already in the Academy. Then again, it had been a while since she had watched Magi, so maybe the memory was faulty.

Sera puffed his chest out proudly. "My grandma owns the village bookshop," he explained. "My parents died when I was younger, but my uncle was a magician and used to bring a lot of magician texts and stuff. We would've moved to Magnoshutatt with him, but Grandma didn't want to leave the shop: you know, old memories and all? So I decided to stick with her until I grew older and wanted to test my luck at being a magician."

That would explain Sera's rather broader knowledge on magic, although Yamuraiha still couldn't figure out why he wasn't a part of the Academy yet. "Is the test to get in hard, or something?" Yamuraiha pressed. "Why haven't you joined yet, then?"

"Ah…" Sera turned a shade of embarrassed red, finding the need to fiddle with his fingers. "Uncle kind of died in some kind of training accident, so he never got around to actually _teaching_ me much. I just know stuff, but I just can't get it to work."

"I see." There was a short moment of silence that Yamuraiha was surprised to find wasn't that uncomfortable. "I'm sorry for your uncle," she offered. "And your parents."

"You didn't do anything." Sera shrugged. "Besides, my parents died when I was pretty young, so I don't remember them. And Uncle...well, I liked him a lot, but Grandma's really the person who's been taking care of me for most of my life."

"Oh."

Yamuraiha really was an amazing conversationalist sometimes. She inwardly facepalmed at the stupid reply.

There was another brief period of silence.

"My parents died when I was an infant," she said suddenly. "I was raised in the Musta'sim palace until they discovered me trying to do magic. Some servants broke me out, and that's why I'm here." Yamuraiha felt like the kid needed at least some compensation for spilling his entire life story to her. The majority of explanation was true, just with a lot of crucial details omitted and her lying about how she got out.

"Wait...does that mean you can do magic?" Sera instantly brightened.

"Um...yes. I'm best at Water Magic." Yamuraiha watched the purple eyed boy warily as he began jumping around energetically.

"That's so cool! I wanted to be someone cool who specialized in Life Magic or Water Magic or something, but _noooo_ I just _had_ to get Wind Magic. Of course." Sera began to rant to himself as Yamuraiha just watched the boy, stupefied. "Then again, White Magicians' second affinity is Heat Magic, and it'd be really cool to do some kind of fire tornado thing but how would that even work?

Something about him reminded her of her friends in her past life ( _if she had even considered them as friends,_ a nasty voice whispered inside her), and that made Yamuraiha feel nostalgic, at peace, and bitter at the same time.

"If you want, I can see if I can help," Yamuraiha offered. "We can exchange information. I liked to sneak into the Royal library a lot, so perhaps something the other person knows might benefit us."

Usually Yamuraiha would have been more reluctant to share information with strangers, but she was perceptive enough to know when and when not people were telling the truth. She could judge people's characters extremely easily, which was one of the many reasons Yamuraiha's personality was somewhat cynical. Most people were cruel, untrustworthy, the kind to stab you in the back if it meant their success. But she could tell that Sera was a sincere person, and she wanted to help him. It was perfect: he'd get the training he needed to get in. She would get the satisfaction of being a good person...along with other self-benefitting things thrown into the deal as well, as the boy would have a lot of interesting information about how Musta'sim worked and would serve as a potential ally.

Damn, she really was a selfish person. Yamuraiha frowned.

"Free information? Sure! Of course!" Sera exclaimed enthusiastically, grabbing onto Yamuraiha's shoulders and literally throwing himself over her. She stiffened at the close contact. "This is so great. Thanks, Raiha!"

"Yeah, yeah, just _get off_."

* * *

Someone entered Sera's residence through the front entrance, which was basically a piece of cloth hung over a carved stone opening. Immediately, Sera's face lit up, pausing the rapid conversation between him and Yamuraiha.

"Grandma! Raiha...you know, that blue haired girl? She's awake! And guess what, she's a magician too. We were just talking about some theories we had about how staffs help magicians channel magic better and how that might work. We were debating between two theories: the staff's just a point of concentration that allows the magician to focus more on, or the staff is able to redirect the Rukh itself. It's really awesome."

"Sera, Sera, slow down," the elderly woman laughed, patting the enthusiastic Wind Mage on the head gently. She set down a bag full of books and made her way to where Yamuraiha was laying. "How are you feeling, dear?"

"Better. Thank you for your hospitality, I owe you and your grandson my life," Yamuraiha said politely, mustering as much sincerity as she could offer. "Not many people would do what you did for me, a stranger."

"Nonsense. You're young, and although those dreaded Al Tharmen men were looking for you, I'm sure that you are a fine girl." Sera's grandmother gave her a warm smile. Yamuraiha could see why Sera had given up living in Magnoshutatt for her: everything about the elderly woman gave the other person a sense of comfort and ease.

"Dear, I won't pry into other's business if they don't want me to...but whatever reason Al Tharmen is chasing you...you haven't done anything wrong, have you?" Sera's grandmother asked, and although her tone was kind there was still a wary look in the woman's eyes. Old age came hand in hand with wisdom, and Yamuraiha would've been more worried if the woman wasn't somewhat cautious.

"No," Yamuraiha replied as honestly as she could. "It...it has to do with my lineage, my birth. Musta'sim does not approve of those descending from magician lineage." It was the truth, but not all of the truth. She couldn't go spouting details about her reincarnation nor abnormal existence.

"I see. We do not discriminate by who you are when you are born, but who you will become in the future." Sera's grandmother gave Yamuraiha a pat on the head affectionately as she had to her grandson. "And as I'm sure Sera has been telling you plenty about, our family has dealt with magicians in the past."

"Yes, he has spoken to me about your family's history." Yamuraiha nodded to confirm this. "We were discussing earlier about how certain affinities to different kinds of magic worked, and whether or not it was genetically influenced, environmentally influenced, or both."

Sera made an interesting companion. He was extremely energetic and loud, and sometimes it was hard to make out what he was saying when he became highly passionate about a subject because of the speed of his words, but it was nice to to have a companion with a thirst of knowledge. Prince Nick, back in Musta'sim, had mainly played that role, but he had always been into more of the practical topics that would actually affect him should he come to the throne.

Sera, on the other hand, looked towards the unknown and not only accepted it, but strove to figure it out. He would have made a wonderful scientist back in Yamuraiha's old world. She should know: in her past life, Yamuraiha had been extremely successful when it came to academics at school. She was expected to be great.

"I see. Sera, why don't you keep Raiha here company while I'll start preparing dinner," his grandmother said kindly.

"Sure, Grandma." Once the elderly lady left the room, they quickly resumed their discussion.

* * *

It had been about three days since Yamuraiha woken up. Since then, she had gotten much better, now able to move around the residence and help out with chores to make up for what they did for her. She found that Sera, around the house, was exactly what she expected him to be: a clutz. He often got so excited about a subject that he'd forget about whatever task he was supposed to do, which had eventually led to him being banned from the kitchen, he had explained to Yamuraiha. Apparently his banishment from the kitchen had to do with a time when he accidentally left a kettle of water boiling too long, and although Sera wouldn't disclose most of the details of _that_ particular escapade, Yamuraiha could tell that his grandma had not been happy.

Thus, when Yamuraiha had begun to help out by cooking dinner and cleaning the house, it was an understatement to say that his grandmother was relieved. Sera couldn't really be trusted with any household task.

"You're such a dear," his grandma said absentmindedly, patting Yamuraiha on the head as the two of them stood at the kitchen counter, cutting herbs. "Where did you learn how to cook?"

"I helped out at the kitchen during my stay at the palace," Yamuraiha explained simply. "It was an...enlightening experience."

His grandmother hummed in response. The conversation faded as the two focused on preparing dinner.

"Why don't you go talk with Sera for now?" His grandmother suggested. "You've been cleaning and cooking nonstop for the past two days."

"But…"

"It's alright, I can handle dinner. I think right now the most you can do to help is watch over Sera and make sure he isn't getting into too much trouble." The elderly woman chuckled. "You, Raiha, are three years younger than him, but I think that you're much more mature."

"Thank you, ma'am," she replied awkwardly, setting down the cutting knife on the cutting board. "I guess I'll go see what Sera's doing."

Yamuraiha made her way out of the kitchen and into Sera's room, calling his name. The boy quickly popped his head out of his room, and she couldn't help but blink in surprise at his rather messy appearance. His dark, raven locks were tied in a short ponytail that reached his shoulders, and he was wearing green, copper-tinted goggles. His white robes had dirt and ash on them, making the once-white robes a muddy brown color with splotches of coal black. Yamuraiha instantly frowned at this observation. She'd have to wash them later.

"Why are you so...unkempt today?" She managed, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

"I've been working on something," he explained simply. Yamuraiha rose an unimpressed eyebrow at the lackluster response. He elaborated, "I was trying to tinker with your staff, but every single time I try touching it, it keeps sending an electrical shock wave to blow me back. Quite interesting. Where'd you get it?"

Inwardly, Yamuraiha whistled, impressed. So the King really had made a high-quality staff for her. Nice, but difficult to lie about. "The Crown Prince of the Musta'sim kingdom, Nicholas, thought of me as a friend. It was a parting gift."

"Despite Musta'sim telling everyone that magic was evil?"

"I used a bit of mental manipulation," Yamuraiha admitted shamelessly. "But he never really cared for social standards anyways. Interesting company, that one." What was interesting was how Yamuraiha's heart ached as she spoke those words. Despite everything, she still missed the green haired prince's presence.

"How'd he get it?"

"Custom made. Have you heard of the staff maker, Seisha?" Yamuraiha spoke the truth this time. Staff maker Seisha lived a hermit's life in the Great Desert, but everyone knew that his staffs were the highest quality in the world. The King had actually confirmed that he had it made by Seisha, so she wasn't lying. It was always good to mix a few truths within her lies. If one truth was proven true, then it made the lies look like they were true too. "He was going to give it to me for my birthday, but since the King discovered my powers there was a change of plans and he got one of the servants to give it to me before my escape."

"Hm…" Sera hummed thoughtfully, bearing a striking resemblance to his grandmother in that moment. "Interesting. So I guess there must be some kind of spell banning anybody other than the user to try using this staff. Completely theft-proof. Although I guess it allowed for certain people to take it, as your prince and the servant must have brought it to you. Maybe there's some trick to allowing certain people to access it?"

"I guess. Never actually knew that it could do that before you told me," Yamuraiha admitted. This conversation was already in dangerous territory, and before she could get any more uncomfortable, she changed the subject. "Anyways, would you like to review a bit about elemental magic? Then we can practice actually performing magic, and you can help me by observing the Rukh when I perform spells. I want to be able to do one while keeping the Rukh around me looking normal."

"Sure!"

* * *

"Now?"

"Nope."

"...now?"

"Still nope."

"... _now_?"

"Still just as non-Rukhy as before," Sera observed. "Try harder."

"I _am_ trying," Yamuraiha gritted her teeth. She was meditating, with her legs crossed and hands clasped in front of her chest as she closed her eyes and attempted to maintain a Borg. The golden sphere flickered every now and then, but generally remained strong thanks to her constant training to push her endurance levels. Sighing, she let her hands drop to her lap and gave Sera a frustrated look. "How am I supposed to suddenly make the Rukh like me? I can't even see it. Since _birth._ "

Sera shrugged. "The textbooks never covered a case like this," he said helpfully. "I think there was one case where there was a woman of whom the Rukh fluttered strangely around whenever she was going to do something...out of this world, but that was just a legend. The three Magi all attract the Rukh at ginormous rates, according to one of the books I borrowed from Grandma."

"Sure. Great. I can't even _see_ the Rukh, much less make friends with it. Them. It." Yamuraiha decided to drop _that_ internal struggle and instead attempt once again at somehow manipulating the Rukh. How was she supposed to do it? A spell?

What had she done in the past that could help her now?

She stilled completely, easing her breathing and concentrating deep inside her mind. For whatever reason, she was reborn into this world. A world in which the Rukh was considered a 'natural phenomenon'. What did she know about the Rukh besides that?

Yamuraiha came to an epiphany. 'All people, after they died, would return to the Rukh'. Essentially, the Rukh consisted of the life energy of once-beings. The logic sounded more logical in her head, but if she was born in this world, a person who did not come from or return to the Rukh, that could be considered the 'disturbance in the pond'. Her existence was literally something that went against the grain.

It was possible that because her 'soul' wasn't from the Rukh, this might be the reason why the Rukh was rejecting her magic and body. Then again, it was also possible that she herself was never reborn, but simply the memories were retained and carried over into this body. Was she really Raiha? Or was she just a Yamuraiha with memories of Raiha's past life?

She remembered that yet another theory on reincarnation into an alternate universe, guiltily stolen from fanfiction she had read in the past. It was possible that at one point two 'souls', two consciences lived in Yamuraiha's body, but her soul, with its extra lifetime of memories, had eventually dominated and taken over Yamuraiha.

Whichever one of those theories was correct didn't really matter. But she was pretty sure that she had figured out why the Rukh was rejecting her.

Closing her eyes, she murmured, "Please...for whatever reason I have been brought here...I doubt that these circumstances will assist me in keeping the storyline as is. For whatever reason I am here...I can not have this hindering me in my quest to make up for my existence. For Raiha's existence. Lend me your power, your assistance."

To be completely honest, Yamuraiha was not sure if that would work at all. But judging by the exclamation of surprise from Sera, she supposed the Rukh had abided to her wishes. For now, at least.

* * *

"You're not... _bad_ , I guess," Yamuraiha said carefully. "But not the best either."

"I know, I suck," Sera corrected grumpily. "Don't try to sugar coat it."

 _Well, she tried being nice._ "Okay. Your feeble attempt at Wind Magic was the most pathetic thing I've ever seen, and I've seen plenty of patheticness. I think a piece of shit can do better, honestly, and if that sorry attempt was actually what you considered as 'magic', that's sad."

"...thanks," Sera grumbled.

Yamuraiha sent him a sugary sweet smile in return. "Okay, so let's start with the basics all over again. Try making a Borg."

Immediately, a golden sphere encased Sera's figure. She approached it warily and with a gentle hand, knocked against it. "Seems sturdy enough," she mused. "Okay, so what do _you_ do to get this to work?"

"I attempt to manipulate the Rukh by telling it to move that way, and to make sure it's strong enough I found that concentrating on an extremely small point works. The best method is to cross your hands together if you don't use a staff, sort of in a praying motion. Then at the tips of your fingers a ball of light should appear, and you focus on expanding that while keeping your hands at a thirty degree angle."

Sera would have rambled for much longer had not it been for Yamuraiha stopping him.

"I understand what you mean," she said patiently. After all, the part of Yamuraiha that had a hate-love relationship with science knew the importance of testing different methods and determining the most effective. "And your way of thinking is good. But for elemental magic, at least from what I've gathered, you'll need more than just figuring out through trial and error. You need to _feel_ it."

This time, Sera was the one to give Yamuraiha an unimpressed look. " _Feel_ it?" He repeated skeptically.

The realist in Yamuraiha had reeled at first too, when she first read the explanation in one of the books the King had brought her. "Yeah. Just sit down into a meditative pose, and I'll talk you through the entire process," she commanded, gesturing for him to sit down.

The boy did, albeit reluctantly. Taking orders from a nine year old was never really the best, and a part of Yamuraiha sympathized with him. She was surprised to see Sera relax into a meditative state so quickly, but then again, despite his personality he was still a few years older than her. He knew that fidgeting wouldn't serve him much.

"Picture the place you feel most comfortable at," she said soothingly, allowing for Sera to readjust for a few moments before continuing once she saw the more relaxed smile on his face. "Now, where is that place?"

"Grandma's bookshop," Sera murmured.

"Cool. Okay, so now imagine you're reading a book. You're immersed in the story, you're in the middle of a particularly dramatic reveal. Your hand grips onto the book cover just a tad bit more tight, and you inhale as you turn the next page." She continued to use the same calm, soothing tone of voice that she personally thought a yoga instructor would use during meditation.

"Now, for some reason you can't turn the page. Maybe the pages are stuck together, or your finger keeps clumsily grabbing more pages than you need to. You're starting to get frustrated."

"You feel your frustration, your emotion, your _desire_ to turn the page." Oh, God, she was sounding so cliche and dramatic. It was making the part of her that flourished in theater, no matter how brief the time she was in the drama club had been, revive once again.

"You feel these emotions building up, as if there's some kind of dam keeping you from releasing them. But slowly, all of those pent up frustrations build until you can't hold them back any longer. You feel _wind._ Air, rushing past you and sending the papers next to the spot for the cashier fluttering into the air. Wind, blowing open the bookshop door and making the bell on the door chime. _You feel the wind. You feel wind. Feel the wind."_ Her voice grew stronger and stronger until her last few statements were nothing but a command.

And just as she finished saying those words, Yamuraiha felt just the barest of breezes brush past her skin, but considering they were inside and sheltered from everything, she knew the breeze was due to magic.

Sera's eyes snapped open, his amethyst meeting her surprised teal. Delighted, a grin spread across his face. "Raiha! _Raiha_! Did you feel that? I did it!"

"Yeah, you did," Yamuraiha confirmed, the barest of smiles worming its way onto her face.

It was progress.

* * *

 **A/N: I love you guys. Seriously. You all are so amazing. And blunt haha. Like, dangggg you reviewers are just wonderful people and it's so cool to hear from you all. And there's just been an overwhelming response from favorite-ers and followers too. Thanks guys. :D Legit this chapter would have taken like a month longer had it not for you all, because it takes a lot of motivation for lazy ol' me to get writing.**

 **I'm currently in a foreign country, and all I can do is type this up, haha. You guys are truly amazing.**

 **Let's see if I can address any points or questions now.**

-Nick and Dunya: Wow, you guys are really pessimistic haha. I see most of you being like "they'll turn evil". Most. At this point in time I am still unsure of what to do, but I have an idea. That will hopefully provide a lot of angst and stuff. Whatever you're thinking of, it's probably not it, but feel free to make hypothesises (hypothesii?) in a review.

-Romance: Okay, so shoot me, I might be shipping Raiha/Nick too. Anyone else with me? I don't think I'll have a set pairing, as I really think that having a set pairing just ruins the surprise and suspense, but prepare for a lot of ship teases from everyone and anyone. Haha.

~also, just an fyi, in a previous chapter I totally messed up and said that people could't see the Rukh. Well, as you can see from my half BS'd explanation in the chapter, that's the excuse I got haha. XP Thanks to _kociopakta_ for catching that.

-everything else: Irony is awesome! So's messing with the plot. And thanks for saying this is a nice story. ;) Although I personally think meeting everyone through fanfiction is better.

 **Anyways, yeah. Thanks for reading, and drop by a review if you have time. ;D**

 **Question of the Chapter (why do I still try to do this?): What do you think of Sera?**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm back~~~ Anyone missed me?**

 **.**

 **.**

 **(silence)**

 **Haha, anyways, enjoy the chapter. There's a bonus omake at the end. Make sure to read the author's note in between. ;p**

* * *

 **Age 9 (continued)**

* * *

"Next," the man said boredly, waving aside the magician hopeful. Although in Aladdin's time, standards for becoming a magician were basically 'you can perform a Borg, you get in', during Yamuraiha's time things were much harder. Magnoshutatt Academy was much more suspicious and wary of travellers, especially those who came from the Musta'sim kingdom.

She fidgeted in line, clutching onto her staff tighter. Next to her, Sera threw Yamuraiha a nervous glance, which she returned with a (hopefully) reassuring smile. They could do this: they had been training almost nonstop for the past month. Yamuraiha had helped Sera figure out the basic steps to actual magic and he had taken to it like a bird to the air. Once he understood the concept, it was luckily a piece of cake for him to put the other piece together.

Since Sera was such a fast learner, it also allowed time for Yamuraiha to continue to work to improve her own skills, as often he'd spend an afternoon trying to figure out how to create a new spell or maximize the potency of one. He pointed out possible adjustments to what she was doing with the critical, scientist mind he had. She often missed small points when trying to get the big picture, while Sera was the opposite: focusing too much on the details and not on the overall idea.

Yamuraiha saw the world as _the world_ , and she could see how small actions could affect a larger idea. A recent trade agreement between Musta'sim and the Kou Empire, for example. She started to predict how the economy itself would shift, while Sera had immediately questioned how certain goods' values would fluctuate.

Their friendship was beneficial for the two of them, but even though that had been one of the key reasons they had founded their alliance, it was not one of the reasons they kept up the friendship. To both of them, the relationship was a relief: someone to talk to, their own age, who could keep up with all kinds of technical jargon and not judge them on their looks but their intelligence.

Yamuraiha sighed as she glanced up at the sky. She hoped that the Rukh was still abiding by her wishes and was still acting...normal. One glance at Sera told her all she knew: everything was good. For now, at least.

Yamuraiha knew what she had to do to get into the Academy. Luckily, not only had Sera learned about the process from his Uncle, but he had also taken the test several times in the past.

The preliminary test was mainly to root out any Goi or low magicians that certainly didn't deserve in the Academy, thus it was the longest of the three tests to get in. First, they would be testing if she had the ability to perform magic, probably with a simple Borg, Sera had informed her. That was a piece of cake for both of them.

The second part of the preliminary test would test the magician's stamina, probably with something along the lines of maintaining a Borg for as long as possible.

(Once again, Yamuraiha thanked herself for having the foresight in mastering the simple spells. They'd help her a lot in the long run. In all honesty, she would've never thought about mastering the basics had it not been for reading the manga _Naruto_ and noticing the effectiveness of the Kawarimi jutsu, but that was a story for another day. Thank God she was a completely weeb in her past life: if she had been reborn in Magi without knowing who everyone was and what was to happen, she would've definitely gone insane.)

The third part was a test of mental strength. Sera had told her _that_ aspect of the test always had something different, so there was really no way for them to prepare for a specific scenario. They just had to be ready for anything.

Yamuraiha, in complete honesty, was unafraid of all three parts of the preliminary test. She knew she would pass them. She was actually a bit more worried about the part of _being allowed_ to take the test. Yamuraiha was about to attempt to talk to the official and feed him her sob story once again and hope that her status as a Musta'sim citizen would be overlooked.

"Next," the man repeated again, letting the person before her through. Well, moment of truth.

She handed the man the form she had filled out before getting in line for being checked. It asked relatively standard questions, ranging from her name to her age. Unfortunately, it also included questions about her nationality and status as a citizen. That itself seemed like another test in itself: those who didn't fill out the form couldn't enter, making it so that those who were illiterate stood little to no chance.

"Name...Raiha. No last name?" He asked.

She shrugged. "If I had one, I wouldn't know. Orphan since day one, apparently."

The man nodded in understanding, and there was a glint of sympathy in his eyes. Perhaps he had kids. Or he was just a nice guy. Or both. Well, either way, she could use this sympathy to her advantage if she needed to.

"...Musta'sim?" He asked after scanning her paper again. Yamuraiha could tell that he was immediately on his guard.

" _My parents were magicians. There was a magician purge. The people Musta'sim sent decided to take me to the palace out of the small good will in their hearts. I discovered magic, they were going to kill me, I escaped, and here I am now_ ," the man read her response to 'history' and with a tone of slight disbelief.

Yamuraiha shrugged. That was the best she could do with forty-five words. "Trust me, if I had room, it'd be much longer."

"So you don't know who your parents are?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, no. Otherwise I would've just found out some of my parents' old contacts or something and have them help me learn magic in the first place," Yamuraiha deadpanned. Did he really underestimate her intelligence that much? "The castle kept my identity under wraps."

"Teal hair…" The man muttered, deep in thought, but he quickly pulled himself together and pointed at a separate line. "You'll have to go through there. Safety precautions."

"Will I eventually be able to meet up with my friend again?" Yamuraiha gestured at Sera, who was next to her.

"If you pass through security and the first part of the preliminary test," he answered, shooing her. "I assume you don't have any paperwork then?"

"Nope. I doubt that they would even want to consider a magician as a citizen of their country, so I don't think any official paperwork was ever given to me. Although I guess since it's the place of my birth I'm _technically_ still a citizen of Musta'sim," Yamuraiha replied honestly, allowing a bit of snide disgust to seep into her voice. She would never understand why a country would _willingly_ drive away potentially resources of manpower. Magicians could have been a strong asset to Musta'sim, had they kept a symbiotic relationship.

She couldn't blame it _all_ on the country though, as she was sure Al Tharmen's constant manipulations had played a part in driving away the magicians. But _still_. Now Musta'sim was stuck in a war against a country of elite, high powered magicians who could probably cast one spell and knock away a legion.

(Okay, so that was an exaggeration, but she was sure that some of the more powerful magicians could do that or something similar. Yamuraiha mentally put that on her _to-do_ list: figure out some area spells that would be able to target multiple targets at once.)

"Move along, Miss Raiha."

She obediently made her way to the other line, which consisted mainly of suspicious looking men and a few people that had features foreign to Magnoshutatt. She slipped behind a rather tall person with blonde hair tied in a neat ponytail. In all honesty, she couldn't tell the gender of the person in front of her. They were certainly tall enough to be a guy, but their face and hair made them look rather...girly.

"Um...hi, there," Yamuraiha said lamely. "My name's Raiha. Yours?"

"...Lynn," the blonde replied, their voice as gender ambiguous as their name. The blonde studied her for a moment. "How old are you?"

"Nine," she answered nonchalantly. "You?"

"Fourteen. Nine, huh? That explains why you're so short," the blonde muttered the last part mainly to themself.

Yamuraiha twitched dangerously. " _Excuse_ me? Did you just call me short?"

"Yeah, shortstuff. You're so tiny, I can barely even see you." The blonde's lips curled up into a smirk.

"At least I'm not someone whose name is _Lynn_. Are you even a boy or a girl?" Yamuraiha replied snidely. In her past life, Yamuraiha had been tall for a female. But in this life, Yamuraiha wasn't growing fast enough for her liking, making her just a tad bit sensitive about her height. She was in the _four feet range_ for goodness sake. In her past life she had been well above five and a half feet.

"I'm a _boy_ , idiot," Lynn growled. It seemed as if she had hit a sensitive topic as well, for she could literally _see_ the annoyance roll off of Lynn in waves.

"Really? Couldn't tell," Yamuraiha shot back.

"Guess someone as small as you has a puny brain to go along with it," Lynn replied, glaring at her.

Yamuraiha twitched. "That's _it_ ," she snarled, ready to tackle the mage had it not been for something else interfering.

" _All potential students in this line, please follow me!_ " A mage, probably using some kind of magic that enhanced their voice so that everyone could hear, yelled at Yamuraiha's line.

Lynn and Yamuraiha both shot each other dirty glares before turning away from each other in synchronization.

"Tch." "Hmph."

* * *

"Since all of you are immigrants from countries that are on our watch list, we'll have a screening first. We will be injecting a certain truth serum that will hurt you if you lie, and we will ask you questions. Please note that if you are of suspicious intentions, it is very likely that you will be killed."

...okay, Yamuraiha was honestly expecting something along the lines of this, but she was unaware that Magnoshutatt had developed a truth serum. Another piece of information she should probably note: such a thing would be extremely useful in torture and interrogations.

Well, now was the time for her to use her (contrary to what Lynn believed) clever brain to find loopholes. If she didn't find a way out of this...well, she was screwed to say the least.

Some senior magicians came around, ordering for people to come with them. To Yamuraiha's displeasure, she was looped in a group with Lynn and some buff guy with tattoos. She immediately exchanged glares with said blonde as they followed the magician into a certain chamber.

 _Are you going to fail before you even take a test to get in?_ Lynn's smirk obviously conveyed.

 _Please go die._ Yamuraiha smiled.

 _After you._ He smiled back politely.

The atmosphere was getting uncomfortable, to the point that the buff dude and the magician that was guiding them shifted uncomfortably and attempted to ignore the two's silent jibes at each other. The four entered the chambers.

"Please drink these potions. Two other magicians will be monitoring you three as well, so don't even think about escaping," the magician said sternly, handing each of them a potion before motioning for them to sit at the table in the center of the room.

... _oh, great._ Her interrogation wasn't even going to be private. Yamuraiha's lying skills would definitely be put to the test.

"Raiha, Lynn, and Zares," the magician read off their names. "I am called Feiste. I will be screening you three for today."

Joy to the world.

* * *

 **.**

 **.**

 **A/N: Soooo you guys are amazing, and really your reviews and the sudden wave of favorites and followers were what made me actually sit down and write this haha.**

 **Lynn's an adorable marshmallow. Really.**

 **A certain review from _TheLazyCouchPotato_ has inspired me to write omakes that are based off of Disney movies (although this one turned out super long haha). Let's see how quick you can catch what movie this is supposed to be below. (I'm betting the fourth sentence.)**

 **Also, feel free to request for a specific Disney movie to be written for the next chapter. You can also request the appearances of certain characters/ships.**

.

.

* * *

 _Omake_

Raiha opened her eyes wearily. For some reason...she could hear... _singing?_

A hand was offered before her, and she quickly regained her senses and glanced around her. She was on a balcony...dressed in dark royal blue Arabian dance styled clothes. For some reason that immediately set Raiha panicking, _she was in Yamuraiha's current timeline body_ and _oh my gosh she actually had a chest._

She glanced upwards to meet the eyes of the person who was offering her his hand. And that was a mistake.

A broad smile was sent her way as he tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Golden eyes shone at her, his warm gaze making her almost want to blush. Keyword: _almost_. "Don't you trust me?" A deep, tenor voice resounded.

 _OH. MY. GOD._

"Heck no!" Raiha shrieked, slapping him promptly in the face, sending him flying off of the balcony, his magic carpet barely catching the purple haired man in time. The man groaned and glanced at his tall, blue haired genie for help. Hinahoho, as the genie was named, helpfully shrugged. Ja'far, his longtime companion, seemed amused.

"That was just Sinbad... _oh my gosh that was just Sinbad_ ," Raiha muttered to herself, certain she had gone insane. "What the hell is going on?"

"Princess, don't mind King Mogamett," Sinbad quickly recovered, holding out his hand once again. "Just trust me. I can show you a whole new world."

... _what._

Sinbad was pulling Disney jokes on her.

Mogamett was apparently a King.

She was a Princess.

If Sinbad was supposed to be some bastardized, perverted version of Aladdin, did that make her Jasmine?

 _OH. MY. GOD._

Perhaps later, Raiha would defend herself by saying she wasn't completely in her right state of mind. After all, she had just recovered from her state of unconsciousness and probably still wasn't all there yet. Whatever logic that she might have been able to use in that very moment flew out of the window as Sinbad kissed her hand.

Sinbad. Kissed. Her. Hand.

" _Pervert_!" She sent him flying with her first, immediately whipping around and running back into the safety of the palace walls. She was not going to get involved with Sinbad in any way. For some reason she was in some kind of Magi version of Aladdin, which in a way was ironic considering that the title character of Magi wasn't playing the...Disney title character, but that was a totally different point.

"Oh my God. What's going on? What's going _on_?" Raiha mumbled. As she hurried along the hallway, she bumped into someone and immediately winced at the sudden pain from slamming her face against that person's chest.

Who she saw made her do another double take. "S-Sera?" She identified weakly. It certainly was her bookworm companion, with his warm amethyst eyes. The only problem apparent to Raiha was that he had also grown older: he was taller than her by a few inches, and his once boyishly messy locks now were grown longer and tied into a neater ponytail.

"Princess Yamuraiha," he acknowledged, and Raiha definitely knew something was wrong. Sera never addressed her as such. "You have to meet one of your suitors right now. Where were you?"

"Being flirted with by an idiot," she mumbled. "Tell whoever it is I'm not in the mood."

"B-but he's the crown prince of the nearby Musta'sim Kingdom-"

"It's _fine_ ," she growled. "I'm _not in the mood._ "

"...okay."

.

"Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa~~~"

"...kill me now," Raiha groaned, burying her head deeper into a pillow. "He came back."

"Princess Yamuraiha! Another prince has come asking for your hand quite suddenly. Please come get dressed," Sera called, knocking on her door. "And I believe another prince is creating quite a ruckus out on the streets."

"Yeah, yeah," Raiha muttered, getting up while inwardly groaning. She did _not_ want to look at Sinbad, much less interview him for her hand in marriage. She quickly dressed herself in a coral pink Arabian styled robe that reached her ankles before exiting her bed chamber.

She followed Sera to where her father, now Mogamett apparently, and Sinbad must have been waiting.

"Princess Yamuraiha has arrived," Sera announced. At those words, Sinbad immediately perked up. On the other hand, Raiha's shoulders slumped even more.

"My daughter," Mogamett said gravely. _Oh please nononono._

"Yes, father?" She asked politely, already dreading what was to come.

"I have been talking to Prince Ali, and I believe that he has given quite a number of reasons for your hand in marriage. He is quite…" Mogamett glanced over at a starstruck Sinbad. "...taken by you."

"Princess," Sinbad bowed and kissed her hand again, and it took all of the self control Raiha had to stop herself from punching him in the face once again. It seemed as if Sinbad hadn't forgotten their last encounter either, for he flinched when her hand twitched. "Have I ever told you that you've completely swept me off my feet?"

"Yes, yes I did. You went flying pretty far," Raiha deadpanned.

"Your teal hair is as exotic as is beautiful~"

"...you have purple hair."

"Do you have a map? Because I've gotten lost in your eyes."

"Personally, I can only hope you'd get lost soon."

"Are you an angel? Because-"

"You're delusional," Raiha deadpanned. "And please refrain from any more horrible pick up lines before I puke."

Being the intelligent man he was, Sinbad immediately retracted.

"My daughter, you have been rejecting all of your marriage offers thus far. I believe that you already know how important it is to have a spouse to help you rule the kingdom once I abide from the throne, and I believe that Prince Ali is a suitable candidate for such," Mogamett attempted to persuade her. "I've already signed a contract with him."

"... _you did what?!_ " Raiha hissed.

"...I may have signed a contract with him stating that if you did not have a fiance by the end of the week, he would become your fiance," Mogamett admitted.

Raiha just stared, stupefied.

"...I think you broke her, my king," Sera commented helpfully. The comment seemed to slap Raiha out of her stupor, for immediately the teal haired girl screeched 'I will _never_ marry this guy!', slapped Sinbad again, and ran out of the room.

"I think we should follow her," Sinbad said, helpful as ever. He nursed his swollen cheek, nodding in thanks when his companion Ja'far came and applied some ointment to it.

The men followed after the runaway princess and were surprised to see the girl run into the other guest greeting room desperately.

Raiha nearly _threw_ herself on top of the younger male she saw in the room. "Father, I can't marry Sinb...I mean, Prince Ali. I...uh, I want to marry this guy!" She exclaimed desperately, hugging on to the said person.

She quickly stiffened when she realized that the person she was holding on to had white hair.

 _Oh, please karma be merciful on her and please let this guy not be the person she thinks he is._

"Ow, what the hell woman? The only reason I agreed with my brother to come to this stupid marriage interview was because I heard you _rejected_ every suitor you had," the boy grumbled, and Raiha froze when his green eyes met hers.

"Sharrkan," the figure beside him warned.

"It is...decided then? Princess Yamuraiha of the Magnoshutatt Kingdom will be marrying Prince Sharrkan of the Heliohapt Kingdom," Sera announced.

Sharrkan rolled his eyes and glared at the teal haired princess who had sealed his fate. Sinbad seemed like he was about to wither away. Ja'far patted Sinbad on the back. Hinahoho, the genie, muttered something about seeing his wife Rurumu. Mogamett looked amused. Sera looked confused. Armkarr looked satisfied, crossing his arms over his chest, having finally found his brother a suitable wife.

...and Raiha?

Well, Raiha promptly fainted.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I...I really don't understand why you all like this so much haha. Like, the stats keep shooting upwards and I'm just like "behold, the power of doing OC!reborn!characters instead of making OCs~~". Wow. Um...thanks. Enjoy.**

* * *

"What country were you all born in? Which country are you currently a citizen of?"

Well, the guy wasted no time in getting into the good stuff. Yamuraiha had to hand it to him, Feiste didn't flinch at all, even under the three mages' level gazes. Her examiner turned to her first, since she was sitting to the left. "Well? You answer first."

"I was born in Musta'sim, and if you're still considered a citizen even though you were going to be executed and all, I suppose I'm still a citizen of Musta'sim," Yamuraiha drawled. Her eyes were sharp, _awake_. She had to keep on her guard at all time, just put enough truth into her deceptions so that they seemed reasonable and _were_ to an extent, true. She suspected that the potion she just took was a 'Truth Potion', or of the sort, and they would be able to tell if she lied.

When Feiste turned his gaze towards Lynn, the boy rolled his eyes and drawled in the same bored manner Yamuraiha had, "I was born in Reim and raised in Parthevia."

Yamuraiha blinked in surprise at the familiar sounding country. That was the country that Sinbad had come from, and from what she could recall, the country had become increasingly obsessed with one-upping Reim. That certainly was an interesting heritage.

The tester nodded his head and proceeded to prompt the third mage to answer, while Yamuraiha caught eyes with Lynn. She narrowed her eyes, not afraid to display her blatant hostility for the blonde out in the open. The interviewer may have missed it, but she had noted that Lynn specifically chose not to use the word 'citizen'.

Interesting. Then again, Yamuraiha could be overthinking things, but there was something about Lynn that told her the guy would be somewhat important. After all, every single good to honest fan of any fandom in her past life knew that if a character looked unusually handsome or stood out in some way, they'd play some kind of part in the story. She hadn't heard of anybody like Lynn from her memories of Magi, but then again, not much about the era in which the Eight Generals grew up in was known rather than the expositions from the Adventures of Sinbad, leaving a large gap in Yamuraiha's timeline of whatever _she'd_ be doing.

"Next question. When were you born? Girl, start first again."

She inwardly cursed the fact that she had been stupid enough not to take the middle chair, where Lynn sat. Yamuraiha would have no time to prepare for the onslaught of questions.

"I don't know my real birthdate," she answered honestly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lynn look a bit startled. "I know that I am nine years old, however. My... _friends_ back in Musta'sim guessed that my birthday was between January and February, based off of the astrological sign Aquarius."

(Yamuraiha kept it to herself that she was personally theorizing that Yamuraiha was a Pisces. No need to get astrological on them.)

(She also tried to ignore the small, nagging little voice in her head that reminded her that in her past life, she had been a Capricorn. In her past life...in her past life... _no._ She wouldn't think of it. Not anymore.)

The man wrote something down on a clipboard before proceeding to ask Lynn and the other mage, who both answered with a precise date.

"Describe all of your previous magic experience."

Oh. Shoot. Um...well, this was going to turn out great. The man was staring at her expectantly, and Yamuraiha could feel the sweat dripping down her forehead.

"I had known that I was of magician descent since I was very young. Those in Musta'sim did not hesitate to express their... _displeasure_ of my lineage, after all," Yamuraiha said carefully, making sure that she spoke the truth. Damn that 'all' part of his prompting. "I began officially experimenting with magic when I just turned nine, although I suspect that I had previous encounters with magic accidentally that I was not aware of when I was a baby. That means I've been practicing magic for the past ten months or so, give or take."

Yep. If there was any kind of unimpressed look that her interrogator could give, _that_ deadpan face was it. He was probably doubting the possibility of her being a spy now, though. Nobody in their right minds would send a nine year old with ten months of experience in magic as a spy.

Then again, he didn't know her work ethics that she had picked up from her past life. When Yamuraiha was determined to study something and take a test on it, she was _damn right_ going to do well. Nor would he know about her mature attitude thanks to being reborn again. People only saw what was in front of them, and he saw a nine years old orphan. Although she was unaffected by the unimpressed look from her interrogator, the smug looks Lynn was sending her was enough for her fist to twitch temptingly.

"I've been practicing since I was ten, when I was exposed to a travelling magician who gave me a book as a gift. So I've been doing this for four years." Lynn answered curtly.

Yamuraiha shrugged off the triumphant smirk Lynn was sending her. Not her fault she was banned from magic in general. And that she was nine.

"Where do your loyalties lie?" The interrogator asked after the third mage answered the question.

Yamuraiha had never been so glad for the interrogator's vague choice of words until now. Mustering the uttermost sincerity that she could give, Yamuraiha tried conveying all of her (cliche) feelings for her friends and newfound family. "With the people I care about," she answered softly, allowing herself to at least give up this small piece of her softer side.

The interrogator paused, and instead of asking Lynn, he questioned Yamuraiha, "Your loyalties lay not with your country? Former, or potentially new one?"

"No," she admitted, keeping her gaze level as she met the interrogator eye to eye. _Eye contact conveys confidence and sincerity, but too much expresses too much confidence._ Levelly, she said, "I stand by those who I care about." Then, she glanced back up at the ceiling boredly.

There was a moment of silence before the interrogator moved on, and inwardly she patted herself on the back. She was proving herself to be trustworthy enough: there would probably only be one or two more questions about their background before they'd be screened for things like mental issues.

She had unfortunately spaced out, missing both Lynn and the third mage's responses to the question, but Yamuraiha didn't really care. She prepared herself for whatever might come next.

"Will any of you ever betray Magnoshutatt, in any way, shape or form? Indirectly or directly, will you cause harm, steal the secrets of, or trouble our country?"

…

…

Dang it. She hated being first.

Yamuraiha knew all eyes were on her, and it felt as if she was back in her past life all over again. The cameras were on her, everyone was watching, and if she messed up, things could go to Hell. Literally. She closed her eyes for a moment, steadying her breathing and listening to her heartbeat.

.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

.

Slowly, almost theatrically, Yamuraiha opened her eyes. Habits that she had long forgotten arose once again, and it was as if she could hear her father's voice in her head. (" _Be a good girl and smile for the cameras, alright? Just smile sincerely, and everything will be alright. Nobody can do anything when you're smiling. Now, you know how I taught you had to smile…")_

She smiled, showing her teeth and crinkling up her eyes and cheeks. Her eyes were still cautious, as one should be when answering such a question, but there was a _light_ to her eyes and such a charismatic sparkle in them that one could not deny she was telling anything but the truth. It was a smile that told the person receiving it that she was to be believed, that she was sincere, that she was a good person.

After all, in both of her lives, she had raised herself to be a liar.

 _._

 _That was all she was, a liar._

.

"No, I will not," she answered, before dropping the smile and maintaining her indifferent expression. She did, however, turn her head enough so that she could watch Lynn perform.

"Of course I won't," Lynn scoffed, and by the lack of reaction from the interrogator, Lynn must have passed. However, when the third mage replied the same thing, the interrogator suddenly darted out his hand and muttered a spell.

Before Lynn or Yamuraiha could react, the man had turned into dust.

"We don't take well to spies," the interrogator muttered. "And I know exactly who you were, Lucas of Reim. Try learning how to lie better, next time."

Yamuraiha tried not to fidget, and it took all of the strength she could muster for her to stop herself from staring at the pile of dust for too long. She wasn't the only one who looked spooked, though. She could see that Lynn was trying his hardest not to stare as well.

Even though she had been putting on a cheerful and easygoing facade for Sera, Yamuraiha knew the truth: this was _real_. She could die again, right now, and that man's death solidified the feeling of reality that she was feeling.

"Have you ever experienced a life changing event that made you feel horror, fear, or helplessness?"

.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

 _("They found out. They_ found out _. Did you tell them? Did you? DID YOU?")_

 _._

Yamuraiha recognized this question from her past life. It was the beginning of PTSD screening. She carefully weighed her options in her head: answer truthfully and put more attention on her, or attempt to lie?

...the easiest thing to do was stick to the truth as much as possible. She wasn't confident in her ability to weave stories without getting trapped in them.

"Yes," she answered. She was surprised to see Lynn nod silently.

"Have you had repeated, possibly traumatic dreams?"

.

 _Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

 _("My daughter...where did you go?")_

 _._

"Nightmares," she corrected quietly, closing her eyes and trying to drown out that _feeling_ , the hopelessness and fear that had driven her to death. She tried to forget the feeling of death, its cool clutches and _emptiness_ haunting her as it always did for the past nine years of this life.

"Yes," Lynn answered, keeping his response short and clipped.

"Can you descr-"

.

 _Thumpthumpthumpthump-_

 _("Bye bye.")_

 _._

"We're messed up, we get it," Yamuraiha snarled, feeling her fingernails dig into her skin as both Lynn and the magician jumped at her aggressive tone of voice. "Can we move on? You've obviously already come to the conclusion that we suffer from a bit of PTSD. Moving on."

The magician scribbled something on his clipboard before clearing his throat and continuing. "Very well."

(For the rest of the time, while the magician asked standard immigration questions ranging from spelling their name to their level of education, Yamuraiha's clenched fists were trembling.)

* * *

Lynn and Yamuraiha were escorted by Feiste, their interrogator, to a large courtyard. The two were herded into a group separate from the rest of the magician wannabes, probably for those coming from suspicious countries. Yamuraiha spotted a mane of white hair and shouted over the gossip and chatter of the other magicians, "Sera!"

Her friend turned around inquisitively, and when he saw Yamuraiha, his face immediately brightened as he waved at her. Her view of her friend was cut off as Sera was lost within the crowd of magicians, but it was comforting enough to see that he was doing well. She was about to open her mouth to ask Feiste something when the noise level in the courtyard suddenly dropped.

A group of Magnoshutatt officials emerged from a high balcony that overlooked the entire courtyard, and Yamuraiha's eyes couldn't help but widen when she recognized the figure standing in the center.

"Magician candidates," Mogamett's voice boomed, somehow managing to spread across the entire courtyard. It was probably some kind of voice amplifying spell, she supposed. Everyone immediately fell silent, the last of hushed whispers withering away to nothing. "You all are about to begin the first part of the preliminary exam. This test will also transition into the second part of the preliminary exam. Our magicians will be monitoring you all and assessing your magical potential. If you are not a magician, I suggest you leave now."

When nobody moved, Mogamett continued, "You all will be facing multiple trials today that shall test your abilities as magicians. Many have tried, and many have failed. However, if you manage to pass these tests today, the rewards can be endless." The grave man gave a nod at one of the magicians standing next to him, some kind of signal.

Suddenly, the entire courtyard was surrounded by flames. The fire rose far above the magicians on the ground, greedily reaching out towards them for fuel. Several people cried out in fear, but the flames vanished as quickly as they appeared. This wasn't just a petty demonstration, Yamuraiha quickly figured out. It was a show of dominance and power.

"Now...let the testing commence," Mogamett declared.

Feiste wasted no time. He pointed at Yamuraiha within the crowd of magicians. "Create a Borg. Now."

Within that second, a golden glow already surround Yamuraiha's body. That spell, after all, was the one that she practiced the most with. Creating a Borg nowadays was like second nature to her. This first part of the preliminary test would be a piece of cake.

Feiste maintained an apathetic expression despite the whispers that were coming from other magicians. "Keep it up," he intoned, and then motioned at some random other magician. "You. Make a Borg."

Although Yamuraiha's eyes were closed to keep her concentration, she could tell by the disappointed click of a tongue from Feiste that the magician had failed. She let herself relax, her body to stop being as tense as it was. (Well, she let herself relax as much as she _could_ in a foreign place that held people who could smite her to ashes within seconds.) She allowed herself to take a seat on the floor, crossing her legs.

Faintly, in the background she could hear Feiste barking orders to all the rest of the magicians, and she felt Lynn sit down next to her (probably not out of personal choice, but the fact that Feiste told him to _sit down immediately, damn it_ ).

Yamuraiha wasn't sure about how long she spent, sitting there and trying to maintain the Borg for as long as possible. All she knew was that there were pained groans surrounding her from other magician candidates who didn't practice enough with their magic reserves and stamina, and there was the sound of footsteps as several people were escorted out of the courtyard.

She could still feel Lynn's presence beside her. Unfortunately, the guy was probably decent as magic, considering his breaths sounded just as even as they were in the beginning. Damn. She was hoping she could lord his failure over him.

Finally, when even Yamuraiha was beginning to feel the slightest of fatigue, Feiste's voice broke her concentration.

"Those who are left, you may stop. Follow me."

Several relieved sighs were released around her, and Yamuraiha opened her eyes to see Lynn staring at her.

"You survived until the end," he said, sounding half surprised.

"Yeah. You did too," she deadpanned.

"Tch." He turned away, but she could hear the tiniest hint of grudging respect in his voice.

For some reason, when she copied his actions and turned away with a "hmph", she couldn't muster the same amount of initial animosity that had been there in the beginning.

* * *

 _._

 _OMAKE  
Disney Movie: MULAN  
Song Based off of: "I'll Make a Man Out of You"_

Scowling at all of her men, Raiha growled in annoyance. They weren't taking anything seriously. Rolling her eyes, she shot a bullet of water and stopped it right before she shot a frozen Sharrkan in the forehead. "Let's get down to business, to reforge the world."

Immediately, everyone stopped talking and saluted as she walked past them. Sneering, she grabbed the shirt of Lynn and pulled him closer. "Did they send me shoutas, when I asked for bishies?"

("O-oi!")

Letting go of the blonde, she whipped around and began to tap her finger against Sindbad's chest. "You're the saddest…" she increased the amount of strength as she stabbed his chest with her finger at every word. "...bunch I've ever met, but you can bet when I'm done with you."

Glaring at Sera, who cowered under her gaze and whimpered, she gritted her teeth. "Mister I'll...somehow...make a bishie out of you!"

Motioning for the entire legion to follow her, her ragtag groups of halfway baked bishies and shoutas followed her like a trail of ducks with their mother.

Instructing them, she explained, "Smooth talk like a lawyer, but speak with a hot, smexy voice."

Everyone nodded, taking notes dutifully.

"Once you find your host type, you are sure to win (her heart)." She pulled down a chart of characters from Ouran High School Host club and another chart of characters from a dating sim.

"You're a short, hot tempered, idiotic lot, and you don't even play the tsundere right…" She sent a not so subtle glance at Sharrkan. "Somehow I'll...find the charmer…inside you~"

"I'm never gonna attract a girl…" Sera muttered.

"Say goodbye to those who knew me," Sinbad winced, having been slapped and deemed a pervert by a group of girls he tried to flirt with.

"Why did I ever try to join this, again?" Nick wondered.

"This woman's got them whipped real bad," Ja'far muttered.

"Hope she doesn't see right through me…" muttered a random guy trying to escape.

("Oi! Get back here!")

"Why does she keep on thinking I'm a girl?" Lynn muttered to himself.

("Now, tell me what you guys are?")

"WE ARE MEN!"

"Keep up a smile whenever they're looking." She instructed, and glared at the men again, waiting for them to shout again..

"WE ARE MEN!" They all yelled, saluting and attempting not to cower under her glare.

"With all the charm of the great Usui~~~"

("...wait, what?" Nick deadpanned, but the other guys overpowered his question.)

"WE ARE MEN!"

"Don't forget to give a sexy wink~~ Be mysterious...well, mischievous types work too~"

* * *

 **A/N: Lol, so once again I emphasize that these omakes are omakes. They're short.**

 _ **Request a Disney movie and even a song if you want.**_

 **That Mulan parody was written while waiting in the movie theatre to watch Suicide Squad (btw, totally on the DC ship~ sorry Marvel fans~). Don't judge. The syllables should generally work out, so feel free to sing to your heart's content~~~**

 **ILY PEOPLE SO MUCH! I'll repeat it again and again, but omg you guys are just soooooo *insert heart emojis that fanfiction doesn't allow here*.**

 **High five to all my shippers in the reviews~~~ I saw Nick/Raiha and Sinbad/Raiha. And perhaps Sharrkan/Raiha?  
**

 **Quick addresses to questions/comments/etc. in reviews. I may have PM'd you reviewers already about it, but this is for the general public haha.**

-"When she rejected seeing the price of the mustasim kingdom I was wondering if that would be Nick..." ~ Yes, yes it was. Lol that's the irony: if she wasn't so grumpy and tired, then she wouldn't have sent him away and instead could've got off canon character free. Sucks to be her.

-"I wonder if Raiha will be able to see Rukh in the future, since not being able to must be pretty hard for a magician." ~ Nope, sucks to be her. She's not gonna see 'em, ever.

-"I wonder if Lynn will be like Titus. It would definitely be interesting if Scheherazade had been sending spies before Titus." ~ Whoops, I was trying to make a shouta and thought of Len Kagamine and was like "screw it let's make him blonde". Then I realized that Titus was blonde. Sad to say that Lynn isn't going to be one of Scheherazade's agents, if plans go right.

-"I SHIP SINBAD/RAIHA!" "SINBAAAAAD I LOVE YOU!" "OMG SINBAD~~" ~ Lol okay, so that wasn't actually what was in the reviews, but I promise that despite what Raiha wants, she'll meet Sinbad in the actual story.

 **(Haha, where are my conspiracists/theorists? Let's start making ridiculous backstories for Lynn~~~ Or theories on Raiha's past life~!** **)**

 **Thank you very much for reading~ Drop a review if you have time. :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Lol just saying there's always lots of important or cool stuff on my profile. Right now there's a character poll for Yamuraiha: who are your top three favorite characters? ;D**

 **Ty for reading. Enjoy.**

* * *

"These are the Magnoshutatt dorms. You all will be staying in the first year dorms for now until you drop out of the entrance exams. These dorms are separated from everyone else as you still have not been accepted in the Academy yet, and if you survive for a year, you will be moved up into the second year dorms," Feiste explained. They were right in front of a tall building with spiraling towers.

Yamuraiha's eyebrows raised. Quite different from what she remembered from the original storyline, but then again Magnoshutatt was in war. Precautions were bound to be different, plus it would be a _loooong_ while until Aladdin attended here.

"For now, you will be assigned a roommate of the same gender and will retire to your assigned room. No switching. Curfew is nine o'clock, we meet at six in the morning tomorrow to begin the third trial of the preliminary test. If you pass, you will go on to the second test, which is a written test. The top fifty of that test will then be judged and sorted into groups according to their skill level," Feiste informed, his eyes glancing around for anybody to disagree. After a brief period of silence, he nodded to himself again. "My colleagues, Edith and Marth, will be reading off the names and room numbers. These are all randomized, so do not expect the list to go in alphabetical order."

A woman with long, startling green hair and a man with royal dark blue hair stepped up to reveal themselves to the crowd. Yamuraiha didn't recognize either of them from the series.

"I am Edith, I am the Magic Theory teacher for the Elite Group A," the woman said, bowing her head in greeting. "I will be reading off the girls' names."

"My name is Marth, and I am the Magic Duelling teacher for Group C," the man introduced himself swiftly, also bowing his head. "I will be reading off the boys' names. We will alternate in reading off the names. As soon as you hear your name, come up here, receive your copy of the key and a map of the dorm, and find your room. The number will be the floor, the letter will be the room."

"Marie and Alexandria, 1A."

"Sariyah and Stephen, 2A."

"Clara and Shivasa 1B."

"Zayn and Seishi, 2B."

"Shirin and Ava, 1C."

"Sera and Lynn, 2C."

Yamuraiha inwardly groaned. Of _course_ that stupid, irritating guy had to be in the same room as Sera. She had been planning on visiting her friend to check on how he was doing, but the notion was looking increasingly unappealing.

"Raiha and Alyasa, 3A."

Hearing her name (or, at least the name that she had put on her entrance form), Yamuraiha quickly made her way to Feiste, who was handing out maps and the keys. The man gave her a nod and also handed her a bag, her items that they had taken earlier.

She'd have to go up to the third floor, so she walked to the stairs and began making her way up. The stairs were beautiful, spiraling structures made out of some kind of ivory colored metal that was skillfully crafted into a twisted shape. She couldn't help but admire the architecture: Magnoshutatt must have been designed by experienced architects.

She finally reached the third floor, and now she had to go all the way towards the end where room A was. When she stood in front of the door, Yamuraiha finally allowed herself to truly _breathe_ again and unlocked it. Briefly, she wondered if her roommate was already inside, and what kind of person she might be.

Yamuraiha didn't have to wait for too long. As soon as she unlocked the door, she heard footsteps down the hall.

"I'm assuming you're Raiha?" A girl asked haughtily, her eyes scrutinizing Yamuraiha from head to toe. The girl had long brown hair and emerald green eyes. She had a petite frame that reminded Yamuraiha of that of female gymnasts in her past life, and even though she had to admit that her roommate looked pretty, Yamuraiha immediately disliked her.

"Yeah. And I assume you must be Alyasa?" Yamuraiha asked, reminding herself inwardly to be polite.

"Obviously," Alyasa huffed. "Now hurry up and open the door."

"Okay," Yamuraiha sighed, and with a half sarcastic voice she muttered quietly, "Nice to meet you, too." Still, she did as she was told to, and opened the door.

The dorm was pretty neat, for being a 'potential first year'. She was instantly struck by the similarities of the room's decor and structure with that of which she had seen with Aladdin's room in the series. It seemed as if Magnoshutatt never did a makeover on any of their rooms in the years from Yamu's time to Aladdin's time.

"Che," Alyasa grumbled shoving past Yamuraiha. She glanced around the room before choosing the bed next to the window. "This is mine," she proclaimed before lying down.

Yamuraiha shrugged and sat down on the other bed, eyebrow twitching a bit more. "Fine with me." _I forgot how annoying teenage girls could be_.

Yamuraiha began to unpack her items and was pleased to see that all of her things were left untouched, despite the fact that they had confiscated her stuff before her interrogation with Feiste. She ran her finger along the smooth surface of her staff gently, almost fondly, before setting it down and continuing to unpack everything else.

Once she deemed all of her items neatly organized and safely stored, she smiled and grabbed her staff, shoving her copy of the key into her pocket and heading to the door. Alyasa's voice stopped her. "Where are you going?" The brunette asked, emerald green eyes narrowing.

"Out exploring," Yamuraiha replied cheerfully, sending the girl a mock-salute. "See ya' later." She headed out of the doorway and shut the door before the brunette could reply.

Glancing around the hallway and seeing that there wasn't anybody around, Yamuraiha decided to try out something she had been practicing for a while.

Generally, magicians each had an aptitude towards a certain magic. Hers, like the original Yamuraiha, was Water Magic (ironic as it may be). Blue magicians also had talent in Sound Magic, as each kind of Magic had its corresponding second affinity. However, Yamuraiha had theorized that magicians still could use other kinds of magic, but chose not to because of the difficulty.

It would make sense, and Yamuraiha was sure that if she were to recall more from her past life's foreknowledge, the evidence would only prove her theory. But alas, those memories were fading, and all she had to rely on was that small journal she had prepared when she was (even) younger. The journal held every bit of knowledge of the series that she could still muster up when she was two, having gained enough control over her body to properly write (ish…).

She closed her eyes, focusing on commanding the Rukh.

 _Help me,_ she commanded, stepping towards the window at the end of the hallway. She took another step towards it and felt wind rush past her. Then another step. Then another. And when she reached the window, she simply allowed herself to be levitated by the wind, clutching onto her staff as she flew out of the window and onto the ground.

She couldn't help but glance in wonder at everything around her. Magnoshutatt looked exactly like she remembered it to look like in the anime: beautiful architecture, all sorts of strange magical contraptions, and cascading waterfalls. Noticing a map placed directly in front of the first year's building, she decided to take a look at it.

Eyes skimming over the map, Yamuraiha had to admit she was impressed. They were in the second district, where Magnoshutatt Academy was located. In the district, several places for students and those who didn't have authorization to head to any of the other districts were highlighted on the map. There was a library (Yamuraiha took a mental note of that), a mailroom (she instantly knew she wouldn't be allowed to go in there), training grounds, a cafeteria, and even a bank.

She glanced briefly at the maps of the other districts. The fifth district, the one that held all the Gois who couldn't pay their taxes and was the one that got a lot of spotlight in the series, was unsurprisingly not on the map. The third district was basically made of shops run by both Gois and magicians, while the fourth district had more Goi-run bazaars and markets.

Since she was (probably going to be) a first year student, Yamuraiha knew she'd only be allowed access in this district. However, once she became a second year student she'd be able to access the third and fourth district.

...unfortunately for her, Yamuraiha was supposed to be a spy. And spies had to have actual info to report on rather than her roommate's annoying tendencies. She had to find a way to get access into the _first_ district, only accessible to those with first class citizenship: all high level magicians.

...well then, she'd better hurry her pace and become just as much of a magic-prodigy as Yamu had been.

Yamuraiha inwardly groaned. She had a lot of work cut out for her.

* * *

"Out for a stroll at this hour?" A voice called dryly. Yamuraiha immediately recognized the voice. "Isn't it a bit late?"

"I needed some fresh air," she replied breezily. "And for what reason may you be here, Lynn?"

The blonde shrugged. "Sera's a bit overwhelming."

"If you think that he's overwhelming, try meeting _my_ roommate," Yamuraiha deadpanned. "Sera's talkativeness may be a bit annoying, but she makes his annoyingness seem benign."

Lynn snorted derisively, but she could tell he was deep in thought. "Is that so?"

The two fell into an amiable silence, a refreshing change from the hostile looks and biting remarks from earlier in the day. For some reason Yamuraiha found that it was actually easy to be around Lynn. He and her both knew that the other was holding back several secrets, but neither made the move to pry.

Sometimes...sometimes Yamuraiha was just so tired of pretending.

She had pretended for Dunya that she was fine, happy and dandy just like the Princess hoped for her to be. She had pretended to Nick that she was just an intelligent, slightly mature kid. She had pretended to Mira that she would be okay.

She was living a lie.

And Yamuraiha was just _so tired_ of always keeping up the mask.

She wasn't okay.

She wasn't.

And for some reason, she felt that Lynn understood that.

"I'm tired," she mumbled, and Lynn looked at her for one long moment. It felt like he was going to say something else, but she supposed he changed his mind. He turned away, saying solemnly, "You should get some sleep."

"I guess," Yamuraiha replied reluctantly. She didn't want to sleep yet...not yet… "You catch some sleep too. Staying up too late isn't good for you, and if you fail tomorrow I'm going to laugh at you."

Lynn rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine," he mumbled. "We'll... we'll both be fine."

She somehow felt that he wasn't just talking about the test.

Yamuraiha turned around and headed back for the dorms, leaving a brooding Lynn standing there and contemplating in silence.

.

.

"It's time to get up!" A voice echoed through the dorms, and Yamuraiha woke up with a start. For once she hadn't dreamed of her past life, nor her death. She had just been dreaming of playing chess with Nick in the library. Simple. Easy.

She wondered of what Lynn dreamed about, before completely dismissing the thought from her mind. It wasn't her business.

She heard an annoyed groan and realized it must have been from Alyasa in the other bed. "Why so early?" She complained, getting up.

"Dunno. Are you going to wear makeup?" Yamuraiha glanced curiously at the small bag that the girl grabbed.

"No. Who does that?" Alyasa snorted. "Girls are cooler without makeup. Girly girls are such tryhards. _I_ happen to know that I'm beautiful. Girls just try so hard to get guys."

It was one of the most amusing things her roommate had said yet. Yamuraiha had encountered several such girls in her past life: self proclaimed 'tomboys' who advocated gender equality but really held female superiority values. Despite being a female herself, she had to admit at times that they could be both stupid and annoying. And stating with confidence that females were better was simply, in Yamuraiha's opinion, _stupid_. And vice versa with males.

It was to even greater amusement to Yamuraiha that after she and Alyasa arrived at the main courtyard, when the brunette spotted Lynn her jaw dropped and eyes immediately turned starry.

"Yo, Lynn. Sera," Yamuraiha greeted tiredly. "How's everything so far?"

"The dorms are cool," Sera replied, giving her a bright grin. "I didn't know you knew Lynn."

"I was stuck with him/her for almost the entire day yesterday." Yamuraiha and Lynn said simultaneously, sneering at each other.

"And is this your roommate?" Sera asked, raising an eyebrow at Alyasa, who was fighting to maintain her blush.

"I...I...um, well, I'm Alyasa. Awesome tomboy-" Yamuraiha had to struggle to keep her face straight. "-badass magician, and single. I mean, not like I'm interested in _you_ two, but you know, info." Alyasa attempted but failed to hide her admiring look directed towards Lynn.

 _Oh, brother._

This was such a pain. Lynn must have been thinking along the same lines as her, for they both sighed at the same time.

"All those who had previous interrogations yesterday, please come this way," Feiste called, and Yamuraiha and Lynn bid Sera and Alyasa goodbye.

"Good luck, you two," Sera called after them.

They were probably going to be specially monitored to make sure they weren't cheating, Yamuraiha supposed. Luckily for her, she didn't need to cheat. Musta'sim had quite an extensive forbidden library that the King had given her access to, and the fact that Sera's grandma sold books and let her read them also helped.

She cast a quick glance at Lynn. The blonde looked confident, not quivering at all unlike some of the other applicants who were nervously studying some of their notes for one last time. He noticed her stare and smirked. "Getting cold feet already?"

"Nope, just seeing if you were up to the task," she countered easily, maintaining a straight face as they walked into the testing room. It was a lecture hall, with scrolls that must have been their test booklets already placed at each desk. She settled into a seat at the back of the room, content with watching all the others nervously fiddle with the feather pen beside the scroll.

After explaining the rules, which basically just were rules about cheating and the consequences of being caught cheating, the instructor allowed them to begin.

She immediately checked how many questions there were. 257. Nice.

They obviously didn't expect for the newcomers to get everything right. She was sure that people from suspicious countries like her were being held in high standards, but she was confident in her theoretical abilities. Yamuraiha knew herself to be of higher than average intelligence, and coupled with her years of preparation for such a situation.

She glanced at the first question and smirked.

 _List the eight types of magic and all of the subtypes._

This would be a piece of cake.

.

.

Later, at the end of the day, the rankings were posted, along with a portrait of them. About a hundred people had passed, rather a low number considering the number of applicants. She scanned through the list.

Sera was ranked fourteenth, as expected of his bookwormish self.

Alyasa was ranked twenty-sixth, surprisingly.

Lynn had an extremely shocking ranking of fourth, despite the fact that there were plenty of men more than four times their age still trying out.

Second place got an extremely OP score of 250.

...and her?

She couldn't help but smirk as heads swerved to look at her, Yamuraiha's teal hair clearly distinguishing her from the rest of the crowd.

A near perfect score of 253. Four questions wrong.

Alyasa's expression was priceless.

* * *

 **OMAKE**  
 **A/N: Thank Midnight0Sky for this one. This is the most fluff you'll get really. Please note everything is fanservice.**

Prompt: Do a Frozen Song.  
SONG CHOSEN: "Love is an Open Door".

.

"I have five tests tomorrow, I haven't started on my essay, I have a ton of math and Chem homework to work on, and you guys decide to kidnap me and take me to karaoke?" Raiha's shrill voice echoed across the room as everyone simultaneously winced at the dangerous look in her eyes.

Everyone was gathered in one small karaoke room that they'd rented for the next few hours. Several of Raiha's closest friends were gathered, and she recognized everyone. Sinbad and his group: Ja'far, Hinahoho, Sharrkan, Pisti, Spartos, Marsur, and Drakon. Nick, Isaac, and Dunya. Lynn, Alyasa, and Sera. Even their close group of friends that were a few years below them: Morgiana, Aladdin, Alibaba, Kougyouku, and Hakuryuu.

There were so many familiar faces that Raiha half expected for the rest of the 'Kou royalty', as they had been dubbed since freshman year, to appear. She got along quite well with Kouen, and had an interesting relationship with Judal.

"Of course~" Sinbad said, attempting his most charming voice. Unfortunately for him, that earned him a slap in the face. Again.

"I tried to convince him out of it," Ja'far said apologetically.

"This is stupid. I'm getting out of here," Nick muttered, turning around and inching for the door before Sinbad cleared his throat and Marsur immediately stepped between Nick and the door.

"This is group bonding, and we're going through with it," he declared stubbornly. "Masrur, if anyone tries to leave, make sure they don't try again."

Immediately, several others who were trying to inch out of the room stopped moving, knowing it was hopeless to try escaping Masrur.

"I hate him so much," Lynn and Raiha muttered at the same time before noticing their synchronization and glaring at each other.

Sera laughed nervously. "Come on, you two. I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"Yeah," Alyasa added haughtily, hugging onto Sinbad's arm. "Besides, Sinbad's hot. You know, just stating the facts."

"I think there's something wrong with her eyes. First you, Lynn, and now Sinbad?" Raiha muttered half to herself and half to Lynn. The blonde haired boy immediately sent her a scathing glare.

"Erm...are we actually going to start singing?" Morgiana asked, raising her hand awkwardly in an attempt to get her sempai to notice her. Unfortunately, the scenario only escalated from there, and her question was ignored.

"I'm attractive," Lynn shot.

"No, you're not," Raiha refuted.

"Says who?"

"Says every girl who has eyes."

"What about Alyasa?"

"...I'm ashamed to call her a member of the female species," Raiha deadpanned.

"She likes Sinbad, and he's extremely popular."

"I doubt so," she countered.

"Yes, he is. Girls would kill to talk to him." Lynn crossed his arms over his chest.

"Well, I wouldn't want to talk to him even if he paid me," Raiha snorted derisively. (Behind them, a wounded Sinbad cried and hugged onto Ja'far for comfort. Ja'far was not amused.)

"You're crazy."

"So are you."

There was a prolonged moment of silence in which Raiha and Lynn continued their glaring contest. The contest probably would have gone on for much longer, considering their competitive natures, had it not been for Masrur hitting the two lightly on the back of the head.

"Stop arguing," he reprimanded. (For some reason, the situation felt so foreign and weird in so many ways.)

"It's only because she's so aggressive," Lynn protested. Behind him, Sharrkan muttered his assent.

Raiha glared at Sharrkan. "I heard that."

"I meant for you to, annoying woman."

"Better to be annoying than stupid," she shot back, but before Raiha and Sharrkan could continue their bantering, two hands rested themselves on both of their shoulders.

"Now, now you two." A tinkling laugh.

"Ah, Yunan, what's up? Did you just arrive?" Raiha asked cheerfully. "You look nice today." (Behind them, both Lynn and Sharrkan were muttering something about 'bipolar', while Sinbad continued to sulk and hug onto Ja'far.)

"I did, with Serendine," Yunan confirmed, motioning towards the pink haired woman beside him. The girl nodded at Raiha, and she returned the gesture.

"Ano ne, nee-chan. Why don't we start singing for now? We already paid for the room," Aladdin suggested, hugging onto Raiha's leg.

The teal haired girl immediately softened and patted her underclassman, sending him a warm smile. "Okay, Aladdin, if that's what you want." (Once again, there were mutters of 'bipolar' from the back, which she pleasantly ignored.) Turning to Ja'far and Sinbad, she asked, "What are we singing?" Seeing that Sinbad was about to answer, she added, "Ja'far?"

"I believe my lord wants to sing Disney songs," Ja'far deadpanned.

Raiha knew she was not the only person staring at Sinbad with the most unimpressed expression on their face.

"Okay, what song?" Dunya asked, bouncing on her feet excitedly. "Can Isaac and I duet? Oh! Oh! And Raiha and I later too!"

"Sure, maybe later," Raiha shrugged, smiling at the girl.

At the sound of his name, the black haired boy beside her immediately stiffened and said warily, "I don't think that's a very good idea."  
Unfortunately for Isaac, Dunya pretended not to hear him, and within a few moments everyone was seated and watching Isaac awkwardly duet with Dunya with the song 'Tale as Old as Time' from Beauty and the Beast. Once the two were finished, their friends erupted in applause.

"That was great," Alibaba laughed afterwards. "Right, Morgiana?"

"E-eh? Yes, it was," she nodded. "What did you think about it, Aladdin? Hakuryuu?"

"That was cool! I wanna do some Aladdin songs," Aladdin beamed.

"I-it was interesting," Hakuryuu nodded quickly. "Kougyouku?"

"I liked it," Kougyouku agreed, a dreamy look on her face. It was nice to do something like this with friends.

"I'll draw lots for duets," Ja'far announced. "That way there's no fighting or arguing about who's next. Sin informed me ahead of time about this, so I already have paper slips prepared for both the song and the people. Whoever they are, they'll have to act out the song as well to amuse us. Sing well."

Sinbad and Aladdin perked up. Raiha and Nick simultaneously sunk farther back in their seats.

Ja'far pulled out the first slip. "Sinbad...and…"

(Raiha silently prayed.)

"...Hinahoho, I Can See the Light from Tangled."

Immediately, Sharrkan and Raiha began snickering. Everyone else wasn't far behind, covering their smiles and giggles with their hands in an attempt to be polite. Sinbad and Hinahoho both looked like men about to march to their deaths.

.

.

"And at last I see the light~" Hinahoho and Sinbad sang, eyebrows twitching as several people began outright laughing and rolling on the ground. After all, the two had turned to face each other to 'act out' the song, and were holding each other's hands while holding the microphone with the other hand.

"And it's like the fog has lifted," Sinbad said in his most romantic tone he could, trying not to twitch as their friends began laughing so hard they had to lean onto each other to support themselves from falling off of the couches.

.

.

"O-okay," Ja'far tried to stay professional, even though his mouth was twitching dangerously. "That was...interesting. Next pair: Sharrkan...and…"

 _Please don't be me, please don't be me, please don't-_

"...Yamuraiha."

She cursed loudly, earning a light smack on the head from Marsur. She was somewhat satisfied to see that Sharrkan reacted the same way, however (and also earned a reprimand from Marsur). She still clung onto the small hope that they'd get some easy, non romantic Disney song, like-

"Love is an Open Door, Frozen," Ja'far read from the paper slip of doom.

"Why _him/her_ of all people?!" They pointed at each other accusingly.

"The Fates decreed it," Ja'far shrugged. Sera couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips, although Raiha's chilling glare immediately shut him up.

"As long as it's not my Lynn or Sinbad," Alyasa sniffed. "Sharrkan isn't that cute anyways. Then again, it's not like I need a man or anything."

("Oi!" "Pfft. Told'ya so.")

.

.

After a long argument about who got the guy's part and who got the girl's part, Raiha finally conceded defeat and just went as the girl. She was too tired to argue.

Raiha just decided to go with the flow. Maybe if she pretended it was just another play that their drama club (unfortunately, Sharrkan and Raiha had somehow ended up the leads in several of their school plays) setup, then it'd be easier to deal with. She just had to pretend that she was Anna, easy-peasy. And she just had to pretend that she wasn't feeling the stares of all of her friends staring at the two of them, sitting only a few feet away. No biggie.

Locking eyes with Sharrkan, it seemed as if her fr...classmate had reached the same conclusion, and when the music started they nodded at each other.

 _If we're going to sing and act together, we're going to do it well. So don't mess up._

"Hey...can I say something crazy?" Raiha asked, sending a nervous smile to Sharrkan. (She heard Ja'far suck in a little air: it was obvious that he had immediately figured out what the two of them were doing. She also heard a "this will be good" from Lynn that made her twitch.)

(On a side note, both Dunya and Sinbad looked confused at the change of attitude. Go figure.)

Sharrkan sent her a warm grin, an expression that he rarely bestowed on her. For some reason, she almost stumbled over the microphone cord, face heating up, and the boy barely grabbed her arm to steady her in time. His touch was like fire, and it took all that she had not to withdraw her hand. "I love crazy," he replied, eyes glittering with mischief and a bit of a flirty edge that was _definitely_ fake. (... _right_?)

Taking another quick breath, she began to sing. "All my life has been a series of doors in my face." She whirled around leaning close to him and pressing her finger against his chest. "And then suddenly I bumped into you…"

"I was thinking the same thing cause like…" Sharrkan grabbed her hand and was about to kiss it when he realized where he was and temporarily broke out of character. His face turned a bright shade of red, rivalling that of a tomato's. Raiha was sure her face wasn't much better. He stumbled with his words but quickly recovered. "I've been searching my whole life to find my own place. And maybe it's the party talking, or the chocolate fondue."

"But with you…" Raiha found that she was starting to dip deep into her character, blocking out her surroundings and simply focusing on Sharrkan. She was on a stage right now, pretending to do a part. And she'd play it well.

"But with you," Sharrkan locked eyes with her, and for some reason their eyes stayed like that for a moment too long before they spun around and continued singing.

"I found my place." "I see your face."

Their voiced combined, harmoniously creating a beautiful mix that couldn't be described in words. Like it or not, Raiha and Sharrkan always found themselves on the same page, and easily could communicate with each other without words. "And it's nothing like I ever known before…"

One glance at the other person told them both all they needed to know. They rushed back to each other. Grabbing her hand ( _don'tblushdon'tblush-god damn it, curse herself she was definitely blushing_ ), Sharrkan pulled Raiha closer and she leaned back, allowing for his arm to support her. "Love is an open do~o~r~"

.

.

Ja'far watched his friends sing with a fond smile. Yamuraiha and Sharrkan had always struck him as an interesting pair, and whenever the two were together, interesting things were bound to happen.

It was obvious the two of them were in their own world now. Years of acting together had made switching personalities and working with one another not just easy, but _natural_. They weren't just singing for their small group of friends anymore: in their minds they were singing for their entire audience on top of a stage.

Even though they denied it, Ja'far knew the two were close friends.

...yet...yet…

Ja'far tried to banish the thought from his head, knowing that both of his friends would murder him if they heard the thought, but it had already taken root.

...well...when the two of them looked at each other like that, it really did look like they weren't _pretending_ to be in love.

.

.

* * *

 **A/N: Yes, yes. Please tell me I have people on the Sharrkan/Raiha ship. Because I've hopped aboard it. And am falling for it. Hard. (I am also shipping Lynn/Raiha, lol such a bad author...)**

 **I'D LOVE TO DISCUSS SHIPS, JUST SAYING.**

 **I'd like to note that that Sharrkan/Raiha and Lynn/Raiha's relationships may seem similar, but here's the key difference I'm trying to highlight.** **Sharrkan brings out the childish side of Raiha, the petty side of her that likes to win, and the side that just snaps back to insults without thinking. So he's kinda a person who she can be all chill and normal around. Lynn, on the other hand, and her are _rivals_. Sharrkan and Raiha like insulting each other. Lynn and Raiha like competing with each other.**

 **Like, WHAT. You guys are so amazing. I really mean it. I keep seeing new additions and am just constantly mystified.  
**

 **Regarding the reviews (which really was just ship wars)...note that all of these are just generalizations, not quotes from any reviewers.**  
"I SHIP RAIHA/NICK!" - yes, I do too. There was a lot of Raiha/Nick support in the comments this time for some reason lol.  
"Please let Nick/Dunya live." - ...maybe. Ohohoho.  
"Nooooo it's Sharrkan/Raiha~" - HERE YOU ARE, PRECIOUS SOUL. Sharrkan/Raiha omake. I'm glad I found a fellow Sharrkan/Raiha shipper. Hopefully many more are to come.  
"THE OMAKE IS BEAUTIFUL." - from various reviewers. Tyvm. I'm glad you liked singing/reading it. ^^

 **Remember to request omakes in the reviews. :) I'd love for some feedback on Alyasa and Lynn's characters. And don't forget the poll on my profile page. (Lol I'm sorry for being so shameless.)**

 **I LOVE YOU ALL.**

 **Edit: Oh NOOOOOOO I cut out the most crucial part of the test scores lol. Fixing that on my phone at. Ty early reviewers for pointing it out.**

 **Until next time~**


	11. 100 REVIEW SPECIAL

**A/N: A special thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, favorite-ers, followers, and readers. To those who reviewed recently last chapter, I didn't get the opportunity to reply to you because I was legit speed writing this for our 100 review special.**

 **Be grateful children. I didn't pay attention in Computer Science at all and am probably going to fail my test now LOL.**

 **I'd also like to clarify something from last chapter. I forgot to include anything about Yamuraiha's place on the written test and my earlier reviewers pointed it out. I thanked them and changed the chapter by adding second place's score so y'all could know haha.**

 **I love you all, and one warning:**

 **PREPARE YOUR HEART FOR FANSERVICE AND SHIPS.**

* * *

"I don't need a wife."

"But the Kingdom needs a Queen."

Crown Prince Nicholas the Fourth of the great Musta'sim Kingdom crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at his advisor. "I already have enough on my hands for my coronation this upcoming month, but you expect me to find a _wife?_ "

"Yes, my Prince," the man looked unperturbed. "You know very well that Musta'sim's royal family works very differently from other kingdoms. In order for a ruler to make a decision, he must have his Queen ratify it before he can bring it up to the council. If there is no Queen, then there is no King. The Queen and King are coronated on the same day."

"This is _bullshit_ ," Prince Nicholas swore. "You're expecting me to suddenly 'fall in love' with a girl just by dancing with her for three nights. Are you _crazy_? What if the woman is a spy, someone to take us down from the inside?"

"We invite only the ladies of highest social standing, my prince," his advisor replied smoothly. "I assure you that all their backgrounds are checked and spoken for."

"And if all of those women are just as idiotic as my other admirers? What then?"

"..."

"This sounds like one of Dunya's fairy tales," Prince Nicholas snorted derisively. "Why don't you just make her and Isaac the rulers? You know I do not care for positions."

"As well regarded as Isaac is, ancient scriptures decree that the King must be of royal blood. _You_ , my Prince, are the only one who fulfills these requirements."

"Ancient scriptures, my ass," Prince Nicholas muttered, his stormy gray eyes glaring out of the window. His eyes trailed the chittering birds, freely soaring through the sky, wistfully. Turning back to his advisor, he asked weakly, "Is there any other alternative?"

"Musta'sim adheres to tradition, my Prince. I'm afraid not."

"Then I am going to search for a candidate ahead of time. I won't let fancy dresses and sparkling jewelry decide my Queen."

"But where shall you go, my Prince?"

Prince Nicholas looked almost annoyed that the man hadn't figured out his intention. "There is a festival coming up. I'm sure that there will be a variety of women attending, and I'm sure at least one of them can prove intelligent."

"Mind your words, my Prince."

"All of the women I've met, minus Dunya, have foolishly giggled and flirted with me for my wealth. I stand corrected," Prince Nicholas retorted. The advisor was wise enough not to disagree.

* * *

"Yamuraiha, where are my slippers?" Alyasa demanded.

" _Shishou_ , how do I solve this problem?" Aladdin trembled.

"My darling Yamuraiha, why don't you come to dinner with me?" Sinbad proposed, radiating a sparklines only achieved by the stupidest of idiots.

"Oi, Yamu, did you hide my sword somewhere?" Sharrkan asked, ignoring the glare sent his way at the nickname.

" _I TOLD YOU ALL TO SHUT UP!_ " Yamuraiha screeched, sick and tired of them all bothering her while she was working. Sending a vicious glare to all of them, minus Aladdin who she simply handed a slip of paper on how to solve the problem he was working on, she huffed. Furiously, she addressed each of them, "Your slippers are in the hall. I won't go on a date with you. Ever. And you probably left it at the training grounds."

And before any of them could protest or complain any further, she sent one last scathing glare to shut them up, spun around, and exited the home with a huff.

.

.

.

"Raiha!" Dunya cried delightedly, seeing her friend approach the town fountain. Princess Dunya of the Musta'sim Kingdom was not raised to be an open person, yet somehow she still managed to become the accepting and kind woman she was now. She had decided one night, about six months ago, to sneak out of the palace and see the outside world. Isaac had agreed to help her, and with his assistance, she had easily escaped.

It happened that she stumbled upon a group of rather rowdy men, and just when she began fearing the worst of her situation, in swooped the teal haired woman who she now regarded as her close friend.

Yamuraiha, or 'Raiha' as Dunya had proudly nicknamed her, was unaware of Dunya's status as a Princess, and thus treated her like any other equal. It was refreshing: she and Raiha were on equal ground, with neither above nor below the other. Although Dunya sometimes couldn't keep up with the random theoretical stuff that her friend spouted out, Dunya delighted in hearing about her friend's strange companions and house tenants.

Whenever Raiha spoke of them, even if in a mocking tone, there was always a soft look in the girl's eyes that belied her true emotions. Dunya liked it when her friend smiled: Raiha didn't smile that often, just like Dunya's brother.

Nicholas and Raiha were alike in that way.

That thought struck her like a bolt of lightning, and Dunya froze mid step while crossing the street. Raiha, seeing her friend's distracted look, immediately reached out and grabbed her, yanking the green haired girl to the other side of the street.

"Oi, oi, pay more attention to your surroundings," she scolded.

"Raiha...are you interested in courting anybody right now?" Dunya asked, half in her mind and unknowingly half out-loud. If she had been focusing on Raiha's expression she would've seen the teal haired woman choke on air and subtly glance towards her house where the rest of her housemates remained. However, Dunya was solely focused on the task at hand.

"Why?" Raiha asked cautiously.

"I think my brother needs a woman to keep him in check." Dunya snorted, shaking her head and sighing. "But I know he'll never accept anyone's help because he thinks it's practical to do things yourself. He's a lot like you in that way, Raiha."

"He sounds realistic and down to earth, like most people _should_ be," Raiha deadpanned with the same blunt tone that had brought the two women so close together as friends.

Dunya let out a twinkling laugh. "I guess so...huh?"

"So...you were speaking of your beau last time we met. Continue?" Raiha pressed, subtly steering the conversation to another track. Dunya didn't notice, happily complying with her friend's request, and the two of them spent the next few hours walking around town and chatting about life.

* * *

"You are _not_ going to the festival in _those clothes_ if you're going to be _my_ house-mate," Alyasa declared arrogantly, gesturing with a disgusted look at Yamuraiha's plain blue robes. "We are going to arrive in _fashion_. Got that? We need to show off our awesomeness."

"Oh, great," Yamuraiha muttered, pondering if she should strangle herself or not. "It's just a festival, and it's not like I'll be off flirting with guys or anything. I'm planning to attend Sir Mogamett's lecture: I heard that he would be in town for the rest of the festival to speak about the fundamental theories of-"

"Stop geeking out and _get over here_ ," Alyasa demanded, shooing the rest of their house-mates out of the room. "I can't believe I'm even doing this for you. It's only because you look so hideous, you know."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Although the process probably only took a few minutes, those minutes felt like slow and painful torture to Yamuraiha, who was being prodded and used as a face canvas for Alyasa's myriad of makeup tools. When the girl had finally pulled back and deemed Yamuraiha's face 'acceptable', she had moved on to her nails and hair.

Yamuraiha's eyebrows were twitching at the ten minute mark.

By the twenty minute mark she was ready to pull her hair.

When the clock struck, signalling an _hour_ , she was already planning various ways to commit homicide.

Finally, after a tortuous amount of time, Alyasa nodded. "Acceptable," she said grudgingly. "Now show me your closet."

"This?"

"Ugly."

"This?"

"That's _so_ last year."

"...this?"

"No. End story."

" _You_ pick it out then!" Yamuraiha threw her hands out in desperation. "Besides, you already did my makeup first, so there's only a few options that match anyways."

"They match your _eyes_ , and the way I did it, they can compliment any color. Out of the way," Alyasa pushed Yamuraiha, glaring at the girl's closet and shifting all of the plain, practical robes aside until she pulled out something.

"That's a _dancer's dress_. I don't even know why I have that," Yamuraiha choked out. "No way. Way too revealing."

"You're going in it. No arguing."

"No."

" _Yes._ "

(When Sinbad entered the room and brightened at the sight of the outfit, Yamuraiha inwardly resigned herself to her fate.)

* * *

"What was she thinking, dressing you up like this?" Sharrkan muttered, glancing at Yamuraiha from head to toe. The two of them were walking to the festival, the rest of their house-mates having left an hour earlier in an effort to watch some kind of special performance neither of them cared about. Sharrkan had opted to practice his swordsmanship for an extra hour, while Yamuraiha simply sulked about her appearance. After an hour had passed, they both decided to leave together so that Alyasa wouldn't nag them too much.

The teal haired girl shrugged, her hair which had been elaborately tied into a braid swinging slightly from the motion. The golden bangles adorning her hands let out a small jingling sound, and Yamuraiha scowled. "So troublesome."

She blinked in surprise and barely managed to catch the pile of fabric thrown at her before it hit her face. "...what's this?" She asked, drawing her hand back so she could examine the object. It was a simple gray cloak that could easily cover most of her costume. Glancing at Sharrkan, who was notably cloak-less, she could see her house-mate's face was turned away from her, his ears red as they always were whenever he was embarrassed.

"Just wear it," he grumbled. "You're drawing too much attention."

Her mouth twitched. "Softie," she muttered, shoving the boy playfully. The boy grumbled something under his breath, but they quickly fell silent.

The two continued to the square where the rest of their housemates were.

"I wanna see the dancers," Sinbad declared, looping his arm around a white haired individual who immediately blushed and attempted to ward away the purple haired man. "Ja'far, you must come with me."

"I heard that the famous magician Lynn's coming to show off some of his magic tricks," Alyasa murmured dreamily, hurrying off. Yamuraiha twitched at the name.

"There's a swords demonstration," Sharrkan realized after seeing a poster. He left immediately.

"Can I go find Alibaba and Morg, _shishou_?" Aladdin looked at the girl with pleading eyes.

"...yeah," she sighed, shaking her head and looking at the space where all her housemates had stood only a few moments before. They were always such capricious people. "I'm going to head to the magic lecture. Be careful."

"I can take care of myself. Thanks, _shishou_!" Aladdin waved, running off into the crowd. Now that she thought about it, should she have let Aladdin wander by himself in a crowded festival? After all, he was only just a kid. There was no guarantee that he and the rest of his friends would be able to stay out of trouble.

...eh, they'd be fine.

Her feet began automatically taking her to the lecture hall. She tilted her head upwards, glancing up at the night sky. The stars were out, twinkling faintly, but the warm amber glow of the lanterns hanging overhead diminished the starlight significantly. The air was cool, crisp as expected of an evening in Musta'sim. She inhaled, allowing herself to take in everything: the faint smell of crepes and various treats from food stall, the sound of laughter, the warmth of the cloak she wore over her outfit.

She bumped into someone while she was walking, causing them to fall over, and immediately apologized. "Sorry," she murmured, helping the person up. She gave the person a sheepish smile. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." The hooded figure muttered, taking her hand and allowing himself (herself?) to be pulled up. The person looked like they were about to walk off and continue on their merry way when they took a second, thoughtful glance at Yamuraiha. "You wouldn't happen to know where Sir Mogamett's lecture is going to be, do you?"

Yamuraiha's face lit up. "Oh, yeah, I'm heading there right now. Would you like to come with me?" she offered impulsively. "I've been to this festival for so many years, I know the layout like the back of my hand. The name's Yamuraiha."

The person looked hesitant to agree, but eventually conceded defeat when they noticed the steadily darkening sky. "Alright. You can call me...Nick."

Yamuraiha nodded, and motioned for the man to follow her.

It was sort of awkward, now that Yamuraiha reflected on it, to invite a total stranger with her. Then again, Nick didn't ask for her to accompany him. "Ah, here it is!" Yamuraiha announced in an overly cheerful voice, attempting to rectify the awkward situation. It was a grand, large hall, and they were standing right in front of the entrance. "Let's head inside."

Nick dipped his head in assent and the two entered into the lecture hall.

"Are you interested in science as well?" Yamuraiha asked curiously, immediately feeling stupid when the question left her lips. Of _course_ he liked science, why else would he be here?

"Yes," Nick replied, sounding unperturbed by the less than intelligent question. She couldn't tell his facial expression since the hood still covered his entire body from head to toe, but she assumed from his rather amused tone of voice that he wasn't offended. "And you, as well?"

"Yeah," Yamuraiha admitted shamelessly, a small grin tugging at her face. "I used to run around a lot and get into all sorts of situations. I stumbled upon a library one day and...well, _voila_ , I become an instant nerd. It's a shame that not many of my gender prefer such subjects, but I have a few friends in the scientific community that are fun to talk to. And the majority of them are history buffs too."

She realized that she was rambling and immediately shut up. For some reason her common sense and etiquette were abandoning her when she was around Nick.

"I see," Nick mumbled thoughtfully.

"Anyways, let's find a place to sit down," Yamuraiha laughed uncertainly. The two of them both immediately headed to several empty seats in the middle of the lecture hall, which was quickly filling up with various old men and philosophers. Women and younger people like then were scarce, making the two of them stick out like a sore thumb.

"May I sit here?" A voice asked from Yamuraiha's right. She nodded politely, turning and freezing when she recognized them.

"On second thought, please go away," she said cheerfully.

"Too late." A smug smirk was shot her way.

Her smile faded. "I thought you were doing a magic show or something," Yamuraiha groaned. "Every year. _Every year_ , Lynn."

"Not my fault that all the old geezers refuse to sit next to us 'youngsters'," Lynn scowled, taking a seat. "And who's the guy sitting next to you?"

"Nick, Lynn. Lynn, Nick," she introduced tersely. Blinking slightly, she addressed Nick, "You'll have to take off your hood now. Security reasons and all."

Her companion seemed reluctant, but slowly his hands reaches upwards and slowly pulled down the hood. Yamuraiha blinked, taking in the boy's features. A pale, freckled face was framed by wavy green locks. He had dark, stormy gray eyes that seemed to stare straight through her soul. And there was something about him...some kind of regal grace that she couldn't really find the words to describe.

She heard Lynn choking behind her and glanced at him inquisitively. "Y-you're…" Lynn started, gazing at Nick in amazement

"Nobody important," Nick interrupted swiftly, his eyes darkening. At the commanding tone Lynn simply nodded his head in understanding. The two boys shared one long look.

"I feel like I'm missing something," Yamuraiha muttered, looking at both of them. "Do you know Nick or something, Lynn?"

"No," Lynn said quickly, but Yamuraiha had known the blonde for long enough to tell that his refusal was a lie. Lynn coughed, regaining his usual confidence, and attempted to recover with a sarcastic remark. "Great. We'll be the bright haired trio. Totally inconspicuous."

"Yep, we'll be the next magician trio of the century," Yamuraiha deadpanned. "Known for our dashing good looks and colorful hair."

"You two are ridiculous," Nick shook his head, but his lips tugged upwards in amusement.

The room quieted as a tall, bearded man entered the room. "Welcome, my fellow scholars and magicians," Mogamett proclaimed, holding his hands outwards. "Abandon your quills and parchment, for today we will be discussing the everyday application of magic."

* * *

Within an hour, the discussion had shifted to how to incorporate magic in public projects instead. Nicholas had mainly opted to stay out of the discussion, but he watched as his two newly acquainted companions heatedly engaged in the conversation.

"Can't you see how much the modern aqueducts can be improved if you combine Water and Wind magic?" Yamuraiha, as she had introduced herself, hissed. The teal haired girl was an unexpected surprise: Nicholas honestly had not expected to meet any girls at the lecture hall mainly because it was an unwritten rule in society that women were more interested in things like dancing demonstrations, not scholarly lectures. "It'd help create a whole new irrigation system which could be used to fuel crops, which fuels the economy."

"Agriculture isn't the focus of our Kingdom, _trade_ is," Lynn argued back, his sky blue eyes blazing in defiance as the two glared at each other. It was much less of a surprise to Nicholas that _he_ was there: Nick had met the genius magician about a year or two before, when he had performed some of his brilliant magic to the Royal Court. He was just thankful that the blonde had gotten the hint and didn't reveal Nicholas's identity: he didn't want too much of a hassle. "If we focus on creating better roads with Earth magic and reinforcing security with magicians on trade routes, it'll encourage for more trade in the country."

"Irrigation would help the common folk produce goods more efficiently," Yamuraiha countered.

"Reinforcing trade will help those goods _sell_ ," Lynn insisted.

(Sometime during their argument, the rest of the philosophers and magicians had gone silent and simply watched the two debate in amusement, as if they were some kind of ping pong match that kept going back and forth.)

It was a refreshing change from the honeyed words of the Royal court and the suffocating atmosphere of the overly formal intercountry meetings. Nicholas found himself involuntarily relaxing.

"Irrigation systems are more beneficial."

" _Trade routes_ are," Lynn countered.

Both of them looked ready to strangle the other person. Nick decided to stop the two from potentially committing homicide by coughing into his fist non-too subtly, making both of them pause in their argument. Mogamett took this moment of respite as an opportunity and swiftly began the second part of the lecture, in which he actually taught.

Yamuraiha and Lynn quieted, but were still glaring at each other. Nick simply rolled his eyes, grabbed the edges of their sleeves, and pulled them back into their seats.

"Stop interrupting the lesson," he hissed to the two of them under his breath, and they had the decency to look at least sheepish.

"Sorry," the two muttered in synchronization, sinking back in their seats.

* * *

The lecture finished after another hour or two, and by that time Yamuraiha had decided she was _never, ever_ going to sit next to Lynn again. Sure, he was a talented magician, but he managed to piss her off almost every second of the lecture. Once, she had happened to glance at him and he caught her stare. She was about to look away when he gave the most _infuriating_ , cocky smirk and raised his eyebrows.

It took all of her self restraint to stop herself from tackling him to the ground.

Twitching slightly, Yamuraiha stood up and packed up her quills and parchment. "The fireworks should be on in another hour or so," she muttered to herself, glancing out of the lecture hall window to look at the dark night sky. Maybe she could meet up with Sharrkan and the others, and they could all watch the fireworks together. "That's cool."

"Fireworks are beautiful," Nick agreed quietly, and she nearly jumped. She had almost forgotten about her newly made acquaintance.

"Are you going to watch them with your friends?" She asked curiously. "Or a girlfriend?"

Behind her, Lynn choked at the second one for some reason. She suspected it had to do with whatever silent communication thing the boys were doing earlier.

Nick simply shrugged. "My sister is probably here, but she's probably off with her beau."

"You have a sister? What's her name?" Yamuraiha probed curiously as she slung her bag over her shoulders. She began to exit the lecture hall, Nick and Lynn trailing slightly behind her.

"...Dunya," Nick allowed.

Yamuraiha almost tripped over her feet. She gracefully recovered, however, stepping forward just enough so she wouldn't faceplant on the ground. Straightening, she re-examined Nick's face. "No wonder I thought you looked familiar." (At this, Nick and Lynn both stiffened.) "I made friends with a girl named Dunya a few months back."

Nick had a thoughtful, contemplative expression on his face for a moment. "...you wouldn't happen to be the 'Raiha' she always talks about, are you?"

"I _am_ ," Yamuraiha confirmed, half amazed. So Nick was the brother Dunya always was talking about. She had expected someone a bit older, but he looked only a few years older than her.

"Oi, oi, I'm feeling a bit left out here," Lynn muttered, but his statement was cut off by the sound of many footsteps.

"Your Highness! There you are, we were looking all over for you! Chancellor Sera…" one of the soldiers that had rushed over once spotting Nick trailed off when he saw Lynn and Yamuraiha next to the green haired boy.

Yamuraiha simply blinked in shock.

Lynn's lips twitched upwards in amusement.

Nick sighed and facepalmed.

"...I'll be there in a moment, now go wait over there," the green haired boy gestured off in some direction. The group of soldiers immediately followed his command and rushed off. Turning around to Yamuraiha and Lynn, he said tiredly, "Well, cat's out of the bag."

"...you're a prince?" Yamuraiha asked. "Crown Prince Nicholas?"

"...yeah."

"...should I be bowing to you right now?"

"...nah." Nick glanced over at Lynn. "He figured it out right away. We met in the Royal Court a year ago or so."

"And you _didn't tell me_?" Yamuraiha hissed at Lynn. The blonde raised his hands up innocently.

"I didn't know what he wanted, but he's still the Crown Prince and all. There was probably a reason why he was going incognito, and I wasn't going to be the one to expose him," Lynn explained shortly.

Nick was sporting the most contemplative of expressions. "Yamuraiha...if you don't mind me asking, can you meet with me tomorrow night, at this spot and time, again?"

The teal haired girl's eyebrows scrunched together confusedly, but she shrugged and nodded her assent. "Not like I can refuse you, anyways," she half joked. "So, Your Highness-"

"You two can just call me Nick. Dunya always does," Nick interrupted.

Oh _yeah_. If Nick was the Crown Prince, then Dunya was...Princess Dunya? Yamuraiha had thought it was just a coincidence: plenty of girls were named 'Dunya' after the royal family females. "Well, see you later then?" she offered meekly, trying to wrap her mind over it all.

"Yeah. I'm afraid I have to go…" Nick glanced at the spot where the soldiers were standing. He offered a small nod to both of them. "Tonight was...slightly enjoyable."

The two of them nodded and gave their goodbyes before the green haired boy left, his figure getting lost in the crowds of people in the festival. Yamuraiha and Lynn just stood there awkwardly, for once not at each other's necks even though they were alone.

"Um...so are you going to stay for the fireworks? I'm going to find my house-mates, but you can come along too. Some of them would be delighted to see you," Yamuraiha offered awkwardly.

"I…" For once, the blonde was at a loss of words, and the two stared at each other for a long moment. They had been so used to doing nothing but yell at each other that the sudden cordiality had thrown them completely off. "Um...I guess."

To say that the walk towards the festival center was awkward was an understatement. There were waves of awkwardness and what Dunya would definitely giggle about and call sexual tension ( _ITWASNOTSEXUALTENSIONSHEDIDN'TLIKEHIM_ ) emitting from the two of them as they continued to walk.

"Oh, um, look...a festival game," Yamuraiha pointed out lamely, inwardly facepalming at her stupid sounding tone of voice. She was getting less and less intelligent by the minute.

Lynn glanced at the booth for a second, before glancing back at her. Suddenly, there was a glint in his eyes as his lips pulled up into a smirk. "Betcha I can get a better prize than you."

"Oh, you're _on_."

* * *

"I hate you," Yamuraiha grumbled. "You _knew_ I was aiming for that one."

"Then you should've hit the target first," Lynn replied, and although his words were taunting, there was more of an almost... _playful_ glint in his eyes.

The two of them, after completely dominating all of the game booths (besides the extremely rigged games which both complained about), were completely exhausted. They had won plenty of prizes, and had given out most of those prizes to groups of kids who were eyeing their bounties with greedy eyes.

In the end, the only prizes Yamuraiha was holding onto were a stuffed pink teddy bear she planned to give to Aladdin's friend, Morgiana, and a few bags of candy she could give Aladdin and the rest of his friends. Lynn was holding the most ( _adorable, fluffy, cute-_ ) stuffed panda in his hands.

They reached the festival center, and Yamuraiha could see the colorful heads of her roommates probably waiting for her to come. She was about to open her mouth and call out to them when something was shoved in front of her face. She blinked, pushing the thing back so she could see the...fluffy…panda?

Realization and slight shock colored her features as she glanced at Lynn curiously. "Why-?"

"Mo~ron. Would I _actually_ keep something as girly as this?" Lynn scowled, flicking her forehead with his index finger.

"But…" Yamuraiha started, fully intending on handing back the gift.

"Tch. Just keep it. And I just remembered I had something to do, so…" Lynn glanced off behind him, but when he turned around and saw Yamuraiha staring at him he blushed and snapped, "What?"

"...nothing," a faint smile grew on her face. "Thanks, idiot."

Lynn mumbled a quick, "Yeah, see ya'," before he quickly flipped around and began walking away, his right hand raised lazily upwards in a gesture of goodbye.

She didn't realize she was still smiling until Alyasa pointed out how creepily happy she looked.

* * *

"Oi, get back here, that's my _sword_!" Sharrkan called, chasing after a giggling Aladdin. Alyasa giggled at the scene, both her and Ja'far trailing a few feet behind their two house-mates.

Yamuraiha sighed wearily, completely worn out from the day's events. She glanced at the man towards her left, his golden eyes for once flickering with not playful mischievousness, but deep thought. "Thinking about something?" she ventured.

Sinbad glanced at her for a moment and gave a small nod. "It's... _nice_ , for it to be so peaceful like this," he admitted, his eyes softly watching the rest of their friends laugh and moan with each other.

"It...it is," she agreed, her eyes softening a degree as she watched Ja'far scold a sullen looking Sharrkan and Aladdin. And for a moment the conversation just faded into a quiet, solemn silence: a rare moment when she was around Sinbad, but a treasured moment nonetheless.

"I wish things could just stay like this…" Sinbad muttered, and at this Yamuraiha tilted her head so she could meet his eyes.

"The world is always changing, though, and there's nothing we can really do about it except adjust and accept it," Yamuraiha murmured, glancing up at the dark night sky. The stars were twinkling, and because their group was walking away from the festival lights to a nice hill where they could see the fireworks better, their astral brilliance seemed to shine even brighter. "It's beautiful."

" _You're_ be-"

"Don't say it," Yamuraiha rolled her eyes, punching the man lightly on the shoulders. "The least you can do is come up with more original pick-up lines."

"What, no slap this time? Maybe my attempts of wooing you are less futile than I thought," Sinbad said half jokingly, a (rare) true grin spreading over his face.

"Yeah, yeah, don't test your luck."

* * *

"Would you like me to be upfront and blunt, or do you want me to sugarcoat it?" Was the first thing out of Nick's mouth when Yamuraiha returned to the agreed spot the next night.

Yamuraiha's mouth twitched upwards. He was just how Dunya described him. "Go ahead. I'm prepared."

"I need you to marry me."

"...actually, on second thought, I'm not prepared," Yamuraiha said faintly. "You couldn't have put it slightly more delicately?"

"You asked for the blunt option." Nick shrugged. Glancing around, he motioned for her to follow her. "I know a nice cafe nearby that attracts plenty of intelligent individuals. They have a lot of beautiful chess sets. Do you play?"

"Do I _play_?" Yamuraiha laughed, her mind still trying to process his statement. Instead, it just latched on the idea of chess: something to distract itself until she figured out what was going on. "Of course I do. Lead the way."

.

.

.

"Ah, yes, the King and Queen's coronation ceremony." Yamuraiha leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. She mused, "It's been almost forty years since the last one, so it's understandable that plenty are looking forward to it."

"As you already know, Musta'sim runs differently from other kingdoms. They refuse to change from tradition, and tradition calls for a Queen to ratify the King's decisions." Nick's hands were propped against the table, his stormy gray eyes locking with Yamuraiha's teal orbs.

"If I recall right...most Kings, in the past, chose Queens that would easily go along with their decisions. A figurehead, rather than an actual authoritative figure. It's obviously more of an advantage for you to have a Queen who _doesn't_ know a single things of politics, and I'm sure you've realized that. So...why are you going out of your way to find someone who might not agree with all of your stances?" Yamuraiha asked.

"...I am no fool. I know that at times, what I believe is best for the kingdom may not be what actually is best for the kingdom. The Kingdom needs two rulers to make sure that we prosper, and I am not arrogant enough to think that I can fill the place of both those roles," Nick explained. He obviously had been putting a lot of thought into this, based on the look in his eyes. "Musta'sim's Queen position was originally more powerful than the King's, but for the past few centuries their power has declined as focus for educations shifted away from females. I…" and at this he hesitated for a moment. "I need you to help me."

"Why do you trust me so easily?" Yamuraiha asked cautiously. "Not that I find myself untrustworthy, but it's unusual to ask this so quickly of someone you've just met."

"The Council is pressuring me to find a wife from a high class family to further our treasuries." At this, Nick snorted. "Not like we need it. And I've met all of them, and trust me when I say that I do not trust them to run a kingdom."

"The Council, you say…" Yamuraiha trailed off. "What do they think of your ventures?"

"They agree...however…" Nick hesitated again.

"I will not divulge any details of our conversation with anyone else, you have my word," Yamuraiha said solemnly, her eyes flashing.

"...my regent, who's held power for a long time since I was not eligible to become King yet. I have heard dark rumors about him...gathering allies," Nick said quietly, his voice lowered an octave.

"And you need a Queen who will not be manipulated by him," Yamuraiha surmised.

"Exactly. I...I understand that this may seem sudden, but the coronation is due in a month, and if there is no Queen, my regent is bound to rebel against me," Nick said hurriedly. "My close companion, Chancellor Sera, has been keeping an eye on him, but there's only so much that he can do."

"You must be crazy to actually be doing this." Yamuraiha's lips twitched upwards.

"And you must be crazy enough to actually be listening," Nick countered.

"And I must be crazy to actually accept this." Yamuraiha moved her bishop and lazily sat back in her chair. "Also, checkmate."

* * *

"To satisfy some of the more pissy regents, we need to pass you off as a nobleman's daughter," Nick explained. The two of them were in a fancy, high class boutique that Yamuraiha probably never would have stepped into sans as an employee. "I know this tailor, and she's definitely reliable."

"Oh, Prince Nicholas! Oh my, pardon me for keeping you waiting, I wasn't expecting you!" A golden haired woman stepped out from behind a pile of clothes. Her eyes landed on Yamuraiha and immediately a warm smile spread over her face. Offering her hand to Yamuraiha, she said kindly, "You must be the girl he talked about. My name's Mira, and I've known Prince Nicholas here since he was a kid."

Yamuraiha took her hand and shook it. "My name's Yamuraiha."

"I told you to just call me Nick…" Nick grumbled.

"And I always told you that I needed to remember my station, my Prince," Mira replied cheerfully, ruffling his hair. Turning around to look at Yamuraiha with a critical eye, the woman scanned the teal haired girl for at least a minute before nodding in determination. "I know just the right thing for you, Yamu." (Yamuraiha twitched at the nickname but sent the girl a grateful smile.)

Yamuraiha sent a questioning glance at Nick.

"...there's a ball in two weeks, where I must 'find my Queen, my true love'," Nick grumbled.

"Sounds like something Dunya would come up with," Yamuraiha laughed quietly. She paused. "Wait...are you expecting for me to dance?"

"Yeah. Do you know how? If not, I already have a dancing tutor prepared."

"...I know how to dance, but probably not the formal dances that you upper class people learn," Yamuraiha admitted. "So...this is basically a fake, pre-scripted version of Cinderella?"

"Pretty much. With more danger and politics involved. I wouldn't put it past my regent to send an assassin after me." Nick ran a frustrated hand through his green hair. "If I had known that man would turn out like this, I would've retired him immediately."

"You can't change the past, but you can change the future," Yamuraiha quoted.

"You read Solomon?" Nick glanced at her curiously.

"I find his works interesting," Yamuraiha replied, shrugging.

"Yamu~~~ I need you to come inside here so I can take some measurements," Mira called from another room. "And Your Highness, go away. She'll be here for awhile."

"I thought you wanted to remember your station," Nick grumbled, but after nodding at Yamuraiha he left the boutique.

.

.

"This…how...what?" Yamuraiha openly gaped, fingering the gossamer white fabric.

"Your dress for your debut," Mira said proudly. "You need to make a grand appearance during the first night of the ball. With this, nobody would ever miss you."

"Is that so?" Yamuraiha mused. "Well, I don't doubt that. It's beautiful."

"And when you're wearing it it'll look even better," Mira confirmed. She added mischievously, "His Highness won't be able to take his eyes off of you."

"This situation is out of necessity and practicality, not love nor attraction," Yamuraiha shook her head. Even so, the comment unnerved her for some reason, and she pushed the dress away a bit. "I'm crazy for even agreeing to this stunt."

"Prince Nicholas may be a bit prickly sometimes, but he's a very kind person," Mira said quietly. "And I'm glad to see that you seem to be one too. The poor boy has way too much on his plate, ever since his mother died and father...well…"

Yamuraiha knew why the woman trailed off. The King had eventually gone mad out of grief, and although at first the higher ups tried to hide it, eventually the news got out. Now that she thought about it, Nick probably had a hard time in the palace, especially since Dunya seemed hardly a paperwork person.

"I'll make sure he's okay," Yamuraiha promised in a low tone. "Nick's...well, he's a cool person to be around. I'm certainly not in love with him, but I hope it's not too presumptuous to call him a friend."

"He definitely does. Prince Nicholas doesn't let anybody just call him that, you know, despite regards he might have led you to believe." Mira giggled and winked at her. "Now, come along. I think Histok's here to drive you to your dancing lessons."

* * *

"...ow."

"...sorry."

…

…

" _Ow._ "

"...sorry."

…

...

" _Ow!_ "

"...sorry."

"How can you be _this bad_ at ballroom dancing?" Nick asked, groaning. He had decided to fulfill the role of her dance partner himself, that way they'd be able to dance with each other at the ball naturally. "I even set aside plenty of time from my schedule for this."

"But all I do is step, twirl, and smile prettily," Yamuraiha grouched. "This is so _pointless_."

"Sadly, others find it important. And we're going to do this right." Nick nodded at the musicians, all sworn to secrecy, to start playing again. The violinist at the front made a small gesture before beautiful waltz music sounded through the room. Seeing Yamuraiha's reluctant glance, Nick rolled his eyes and lightly grabbed her by the shoulder. "Just close your eyes and follow my movements," he instructed calmly. "I won't let you fall, I promise."

Yamuraiha looked like she was going to argue, but ultimately decided against it and did what he asked, shutting her eyes and standing stiffly before Nick grabbed her hands and guided them to their proper positions on top of his shoulder and in his hand. "One, two, three...one, two three," he counted, pulling her towards him while making sure that the girl stayed balanced on her feet.

Their first few steps were shaky and unsteady, but gradually their movements grew in confidence as there were no stumbles, no shyness, just movement as one body rather than two individuals.

Gradually, Yamuraiha's eyes opened and met Nick's, but they continued dancing in the same rhythm as before with just as much dexterity and precision. Nick could tell that the girl definitely had danced before, for her lithe form, after figuring out the initial steps, quickly relaxed and skillfully mirrored his movements.

Finally, the music had come to an end, and the two stood there for a moment, still in their dancing position and with their eyes locked.

After a few heart pounding moments, Nick looked away. "Histok will meet you at Mira's boutique tomorrow, at the same time, to bring you here again. With a few more days of practice, I'm sure we'll look as if we were naturally 'made to be' with each other."

"Y-yeah. I suppose you have a meeting now?" At Nick's nod, Yamuraiha let out a small laugh and gave him a warm smile. "Well, I'll see you later then."

"Histok will escort you to your home," Nick motioned towards the bodyguard, who bobbed his head in assent.

* * *

"So...um," Yamuraiha started awkwardly. "I'm getting married."

All of her housemates had been sitting at the dinner table when she had blurted out the statement. Everyone simultaneously froze. Sinbad dropped his fork. Sharrkan choked on his glass of water he was drinking. Aladdin blatantly stared. Alyasa looked ready to faint. And Ja'far?

"I'm sorry, I must have heard you wrong, Yamuraiha. Did you just say you were getting married?" Ja'far asked with the sweetest smile on his face.

"Um...yes, actually," Yamuraiha confirmed, inwardly cringing at the storm she knew was coming. There was a long, extended period of silence.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Ja'far who broke the silence, but Sharrkan.

"What. The. Hell." The white haired boy said, eyes narrowing. "You're...you're joking, right?"

"Do I look like I'm joking to you?" Yamuraiha deadpanned. "I'm getting married."

Ja'far seemed to be the only one able to process this. "How come we've never met your...fiancé...Yamuraiha?"

"Oh, I met him two days ago."

You could've heard a pin drop.

"Um...and he may be the Crown Prince of Musta'sim?" Yamuraiha said hesitatingly.

"I'm going to faint." Was the only warning everyone got before Ja'far promptly fell back on top of Sinbad.

* * *

"I take it your housemates didn't take it well?" Nick surmised, glancing at Yamuraiha's dark bags under her eyes. She glanced at him, noticing the scent of cologne that she doubted Nick would've bothered with.

"And I guess Dunya took it well?" Her lips twitched upwards a fraction.

"She's convinced we'll fall in love with each other by the end of this week," Nick deadpanned. "And wants to help me in 'wooing' you."

"She's so cute," Yamuraiha giggled quietly. Her smile faded. "At least you didn't have to hear a lecture that lasted for hours. Ja'far nearly blew out my eardrums. Sinbad tried persuading me out of it. Sharrkan decided to give me the silent treatment. And Aladdin, despite being my disciple, can't believe that you're crazy enough to ask _me_ of all people to marry you. And...well, don't get me started on Alyasa."

"True enough," Nick conceded, and with that the music started and they resumed their dance lessons again.

* * *

"I can't do this after all," Yamuraiha freaked out as Mira tugged at various parts of the fabric. "What if they recognize me from one of Sir Mogamett's lectures or something?"

"Not to sound presumptuous nor rude, but most of the upper class don't bother with such things," Mira said reassuringly. "Besides, you'll be fine. If there's one thing I've learned in my time I've served him, Prince Nicholas never goes into anything without a plan and a back-up plan. And if all else fails, you're a resourceful girl."

"You're pretty good at cheering people up," admitted Yamuraiha. "You should be a therapist."

Mira smiled at this, but then she remembered something. "Ah, yes. Here's a piece of paper that Nick wanted me to give you."

Yamuraiha took the piece of paper and observed it.

.

 _Your name's now going to be Raiha Matal. I've gotten Mogamett to help us: you are to play the role of his estranged daughter. Apparently he and your mother lost contact because of a fight, but he noticed you at one of his lectures and eventually realized who you were._

 _This will explain your presence at the lectures, and if you mess up with some social etiquette, just use the whole "you're new to this" excuse. Don't approach me for the first dance. Around the fourth dance, approach me. I'll ask you to dance. I'll be 'captivated' by you, and ask you for several more dances._

 _Go to Mira's place for the next two nights as well._

.

"I see…" Yamuraiha...no, _Raiha_ muttered. "He's quite a thorough person."

"See?" Mira beamed. "Anyways, off with you. Histok's waiting outside to drive you to the ball."

When Yamuraiha and Mira approached the carriage, Histok helped her up into one of the seats. "I hardly recognized you," he said to her with a smile. "I'm sure no lad will be able to take his eyes off of you."

"It's all Mira's sorcery," Raiha dismissed, but there was a small smile playing on her face anyways. "I suppose we're all set?"

"Yes, we're off."

* * *

"Oh, my darling Angela definitely will be the one to catch the Prince's attention," Lady Delia of the Gray family declared, fanning herself pompously. " _Your_ Lydia, on the other hand...well." she purposely trailed off.

"Oh, I'm afraid you're mistaken, Delia," purred a middle aged woman donning a flashy dress of diamonds and rich silk. Easily recognizable by her diamond pin, she was Lady Blanc, and her family dominated the diamond industry. "Lydia has graduated from her finishing school at the top of her class. The Prince even remarked on how beautiful her embroidery was the other day."

" _I_ seem to recall that he also called your Lydia an 'annoying brat', if I quote correctly."

"And _I_ seem to remember that your daughter was caught _stalking_ him."

"Just checking out her future husband's habits," Lady Gray dismissed.

"Lady Raiha Matal," a man announced to the congregation of upper class men and women who had gathered in the ballroom.

Immediately eyes swerved at the name. Whispers were already going around: Sir Mogamett had a daughter? Or a wife? One glance at the girl told them all they needed to know: she was definitely too young to be Sir Mogamett's wife, so she must be his daughter, looking for the Prince's hand like many other high class girls tonight.

Young men of the upper class couldn't help but watch the girl with exotic teal hair and the most captivating blue eyes sweep down the steps, the beautiful white satin dress making her look almost like an angel.

She looked at ease in the ballroom, despite the many eyes on her, and strode forward with confidence as if she owned the place. When she noticed the stares, a polite, but almost predatory smile spread over her face as she strode over to where her presumed father stood.

Bystanders noticed how alit her eyes were when she talked with Sir Mogamett, and they immediately assumed it was out of parental admiration, not the admiration of a fan who finally got to meet their idol.

The two exchanged a few words in tones too low to hear, despite the many ears that strained to catch a bit of their conversation.

Noticing the many curious lingering people around her, the girl gave them all a bright smile that contrasted so deeply with her calculative one before that others doubted that the other smile had even happened. "Would you like to join us in conversation?" The girl asked smoothly, and quickly several curious busybodies made their way to the two figures.

"Oh my, dear. I never knew that Mogamett had a _daughter_ ," Lady Gray fanned herself with her jewel encrusted fan, scrutinizing the teal haired girl from head to toe.

"Well, it's a very long story…" the girl laughed, intentionally trailing off.

"We have _all_ the time in the world, the dances start in another hour," Lady Blanc dismissed.

"My daughter and I have reunited after many years apart," Mogamett said swiftly, patting Raiha's head fondly. His voice left no argument.

"I see…" Lady Gray said, obviously dissatisfied with the short explanation. "And why have I not met you at one of the finishing school demonstrations, dear?"

"Please, just call me Raiha,"" she laughed benevolently. "And...well, that's because for a long time I did not know who my father was…"

And the girl continued to regale the two gossipers with her tragic tale of living among _commoners_ and growing up without a father figure, the ladies chiming in their utter dismay at her pitiful circumstances. By the end of her tale the two women were weeping, having been completely swayed to Raiha's side.

"You poor dear," Lady Blanc dabbed at her watery eyes with her handkerchief. They both muttered their condolences before hurrying off to gossip and spread the news.

Later, some scholars who recognized her came up to her, and she immediately went into an explanation of her 'true heritage'.

.

.

(By the end of the night Raiha was sure she had at least a few influential allies.)

* * *

The music started and Raiha nearly jumped when she felt a tap on her shoulder. "May I have this dance?"

"Of course-" she cut off when she recognized the figure. "-Lynn?"

"I'm a popular magician, Nick knows me, I'm an ally, so I was invited." Lynn shrugged as they automatically grasped each other's hands and began to dance. He twirled her around. Lowering his voice, he said, "I didn't think the girl he chose was you, though."

"And why does that matter?" Raiha raised her eyebrows, amused, but for some reason Lynn decided to ignore that question.

"You're crazy for agreeing to this."

"That I am," she confirmed.

"...hey...just hypothetically, if you never accepted his request...then…" Lynn trailed off.

"...then?" She prompted.

"Never mind," Lynn muttered. "Oi, the next dance is starting. You should try another dance partner."

"Have my terrible dancing skills repelled you that badly?" Raiha joked.

"No." His solemn tone of voice made Raiha pause and truly look at him again. His blue eyes were trained only on her, as he said quietly, "Never."

She blinked for a moment, not sure how to take that, but the blonde had already pushed her forwards and she bumped into someone.

White hair...she was instantly reminded of Ja'far, but when she noticed the boy's amethyst eyes she realized who he was. Nick had often spoken of him fondly. "Chancellor Sera, I presume," she curtsied, trying to banish all thoughts of Lynn and focus on the task at hand. "Please excuse me for bumping into you."

"It's fine," Sera said kindly. "Would you like to dance?"

"It'd be my pleasure," she laughed, taking the boy's outstretched hand. They danced for a bit, exchanging polite comments now and then, and when the sight of the two dancing was nothing new and all prying eyes turned away, their polite smiles faded.

"I have just gotten word that there are assassins hidden in the ball," Sera said lowly. "I need for you to stay with Nick. I'm going to find Lynn and inform him as well. Have no fear, for if your fear is seen, they will surely know there's a mole in their network. We all have your back."

"Got it. Thanks, Chancellor Sera," she said, nodding.

"Call me Sera," he smiled at her, before gesturing to where Nick was dancing with some overly dressed up teenage girl. It looked like the girl was talking about some nonsensical topic, for Nick literally had the most _annoyed_ and _bored_ expression on his face. "Now why don't you go rescue Prince Charming?"

She laughed at this, but parted hands with Sera and began to make her way to Nick. A tap on her shoulder stopped her from reaching him, and she couldn't help but mentally groan because _how many more surprises would she be getting tonight?_ She turned around, fully intending on rejecting whoever it was who secretly knew her, but froze when she examined the said man in question.

"May I have this dance?" he asked smoothly.

Everything about this man screamed _danger_ , but she could see his hands twitching and knew that if she didn't act quickly and agree, something bad could happen. "Of...of course," she agreed hesitantly, and his hand immediately shot out like a snake and grabbed hers. This wasn't the warm kind of hand holding that she shared with all of her friends and acquaintances. No, the way he gripped her, with a strength and in such an angle that he could easily flip her and pin her to the ground, was a grip of _control._ Of _dominance_ , power, one that gave a sense of being trapped and helpless.

Her face was slightly pale as they began to dance, the movements that had once been fun now a game of cat and mouse, both waiting for the other to slip. The man suddenly grinned and motioned for her to come closer. She did, and that was when he let go of her hands and flashed the mark on his palm.

Her face rapidly turned a ghostly white. That was no ordinary mark. Everyone in the kingdom and in other countries knew that mark, from children who were told stories about this group as a scary bedtime story to keep them in their beds to adults who had seen pictures of the discovered bases.

 _Al Tharmen_ , the most wanted crime syndicate group in the world. They were known for being ruthless and for taking down whole _countries_. Nick's regent...he had been so desperate that he had turned to _those_ people?

"We know who you are, miss _Raiha_ ," the man spat at her. "Mogamett, in fact, did have a daughter. However, she's dead now."

"How...how do you know that?"

"We killed her," he smiled. "And since you are one of the Prince's pawns, you must be eliminated as well."

She prepared herself, magic itching beneath her fingertips when someone approached the dancing pair.

"May I steal your partner?" Nick asked, unperturbed by the whispers and stares. The Crown Prince _never_ took an interest in anyone, and the fact that he would even interrupt another dancing couple to dance with a girl spoke wonders.

The man's face twisted into an ugly sneer. "Of course, my Prince. May as well enjoy being Cinderella's Prince Charming, because you'll never become King."

"We'll see about that, now, wouldn't we?" Nick replied levelly. The man let out a small grunt before disappearing in the crowd. Nick glanced at Raiha. "Are you alright? Did he say anything to you?"

"Who was that? Why didn't you arrest him?" Raiha blurted out. "He's part of…"

"I know," Nick tried to appease her, guiding her into their dancing positions. Automatically, the pair began to dance without paying attention at all, the orchestra simply playing a ballad to their tempo. "I've tried in the past. His name is Rutherford, and he is one of my regent's most trusted men. Sadly, I'm afraid that he holds too much influence over the judiciary system in order for me to punish him. He always manages to come up with an excuse. And currently all we can do is wait for their attack. It'll be on the third and last night of the ball."

Seeing Raiha's rather pale face, he added quietly, "You can always back out. I wouldn't blame you."

"I…" Raiha wavered for a moment, but then she regained her senses and shook her head in a firm action of refusal. "No. I'm already in too deep now, so let's do this."

Nick's lips twitched upwards a fraction. "That's the spirit. You look nice tonight."

"T-thanks," she nodded.

"I don't suppose you think we can sneak away for a game of chess right now, can we?" He mused.

"We're in the center of attention right now, Nick," Raiha deadpanned. "There's a literal spotlight on us."

"Ah, the woes of royalty," Nick said mournfully. At this, both of them broke out into small smiles and laughed a bit.

Raiha stopped laughing, allowing for Nick to twirl her around. "Wait...we're still supposed to be convincing people that we're madly in love right now. I forgot."

"I think we're already pretty convincing," said Nick without too much thought, and as soon as that statement came out the two of them turned red. He amended, "Well...you know, I'm laughing. The other girls haven't even made me smile."

"...yeah," Raiha nodded, almost too quickly.

.

.

.

The second night was the same as the first, except this time there were more eyes on her when she danced with Nick. And the man was nowhere to be seen.

.

.

.

* * *

"You're heading for the ball again, aren't you?" A voice asked from the doorway of her room.

"Ah, Sharrkan. Yo. Did you finally decide to stop the silent treatment you were giving me?" Yamuraiha...no, _Raiha_ greeted. She was still living with her housemates for the moment. Once she explained in further detail why she was becoming the Queen, most of them had taken it better. The only ones who still refused to accept it were Sinbad, who simply sulked in a corner, and Sharrkan, who had continuously ignored her and locked himself in his room.

Sharrkan scowled. "I still think you're stupid," he admitted, "But if there's one thing I know about you it's that you don't back down from a promise nor challenge. So I might as well get over it."

"Thanks, Sharrkan," she said warmly. Although she didn't want to admit it, she missed the idiot's company. It was too quiet when he wasn't there.

"Yeah, yeah. Oh, and here." Sharrkan tossed a box at her. She easily caught it and glanced curiously at it. When she glanced at him, he nodded and gestured for her to open it.

It was a beautiful aquamarine necklace that matched her eyes exactly. She had been eyeing it one day and had begged Sharrkan to lend her money to buy it before, but he adamantly refused, saying that it'd look ugly on her.

"I was saving it for your birthday, but whatever," Sharrkan mumbled. "I would've gotten you a matching ring, but that'd probably be awkward and all since you're supposed to get one from that Prince of yours."

"Sharrkan...you…"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a softie, I know already…" He was cut off when she quite literally threw herself into his arms. "Oi, oi, what the-"

"Thanks, Sharrkan," she mumbled, clutching onto his shirt, trying her hardest to fight back tears that had suddenly welled up.

His shoulders slacked as he simply sighed, awkwardly patting her on the back. "...yeah."

* * *

.

.

.

Nick and Raiha were dancing when they heard the first scream. Immediately, one look at the other person told them all they needed to know.

"Everyone, out, _out!"_ Nick commanded, although that was hardly necessary since many had spotted the men clad in black robes brandishing magical staffs and the mark of Al Tharmen and had immediately retreated.

"We need to drive them out so they don't return," Nick muttered mainly to himself.

"We also have to _live_ ," Raiha added helpfully. Grabbing the boy's arm, she pulled him to the ground and summoned a Borg to protect the two of them from a barrage of throwing knives. " _Duck!_ "

They rolled across the floor, taking shelter momentarily behind a stone pillar. "You are _so_ lucky I teach Magic Combat lessons," Raiha panted.

"I guess I chose my Queen correctly then, huh?" Nick smirked at her. "After all, you're my most powerful piece."

"You flatter me," Raiha rolled her eyes. He sure knew how to smooth talk. If she wasn't herself, she doubted she would've taken the comment as a compliment. But she was a chess player, and she knew the value of being the Queen. Especially in Nick's eyes. "I'm glad that I'm important enough to you to be considered a playing piece."

" _Everything_ is just a chess board. You just can't always predict the opponent's next move...like _now,_ " Nick grabbed her and pulled her to the ground before a flying Heat Magic spell hit her, also summoning a Borg.

"You do magic?" She asked surprised. "I would've thought you just learned the theories."

"I was at a magic lecture for a reason, Raiha. And I dabble in a lot of things." Nick glanced around them. "Lynn's taking out a lot of enemies, you should help him. I'll find Sera."

"Roger. You'll be okay?"

Nick gave her a flat look. "Do you really want me to make a promise I can't keep?"

"No, but I do want to make sure you're safe," she countered.

"I'll be fine. They're all attacking Lynn, anyways. He's a brilliant magician, but he'll be overwhelmed at this rate." Nick glanced at their blonde haired friend who was literally surrounded by swarms of enemies.

" _Fine_. Be careful." Raiha ran a frustrated hand through her hair and quickly turned around, performing several backflips and landing perfectly on her feet right behind Lynn. "Can't handle the heat?" She challenged.

"A bit late, don't you think?" Lynn asked, and although his back was to her and her back toward his, both of them clearly knew what the other was doing.

At the same time, they shot several high level spells at their enemies and proceeded to create large, glowing orbs of pure magic above them. At the same time, they snapped their fingers, and the two orbs of magic fused, creating a brilliant wave of energy that sent the Al Tharmen men flying back. The waves of energy continued, pulsing through the room and knocking down the men every time they tried getting up. She grabbed Lynn's hands, and the two of them channeled their energy to that single point to strengthen the orb.

Raiha was in deep concentration when she felt an object flying at a high speed whizzing towards her. She grimaced, preparing herself for the impact as she had to maintain her pose to keep the orb going.

But that object, whatever it was, was blocked by a fireball that knocked it sideways.

"Sorry we're late, _shishou_ , but we heard about what was going on and decided to help," Aladdin called cheerfully, proceeding with Alibaba and Morgiana to wreck the enemy. The rest of her housemates filed into the ballroom, each beginning to take out enemy after enemy.

"Ja'far...what's going on?" Raiha couldn't help but ask in amazement, seeing her housemate send several goons flying at once like the ex-assassin he was.

"Sin gathered us all and decided to help," he explained shortly. "And we all agreed. Nice necklace, by the way."

"Oh, yeah," Raiha blinked. She had almost forgotten about it in the chaos.

"Sharrkan taken me along to buy that awhile ago, you know," Ja'far commented idly. "It took him three hours to actually haggle enough to get an acceptable price for it."

"Why are you telling me this?" Raiha's eyebrows creased together.

"Just being a good friend." Ja'far shrugged.

"Okaaaaay…" Raiha dismissed her friend's comment as him just being weird and continued to fight. It felt like hours before the fighting ceased, but eventually the ballroom became quiet as all the Al Tharmen members were secured and in custody of the palace guards, who had also apparently been assisting with the fight and had been pre-alerted by Nick.

"A week from now, I will announce my Queen." Nick appeared next to her, making Raiha almost jump. "At that time, you'll have to act slightly surprised and stuff. We can improvise then, it'll lơk more real that way too."

"Alright." Raiha bit her lip, but nodded.

"And...Raiha?" He said hesitantly.

"...yes?"

"...thanks."

"You're welcome."

* * *

"Although our ball ended on a rather unfortunate note, I, Crown Prince Nicholas of the Musta'sim kingdom, have found the woman that I can be proud of to call my wife and future Queen. I met her on the first night of the ball, and although our time together was brief, she has completely captured my heart," Nick announced.

Yamuraiha ( _not Raiha, not yet...she just wanted to savor the last moments of her freedom_ ) winced at the cheesiness of his words. Dunya, who was standing next to Nick at the front of the royal courtyard, caught her eye and the green haired princess immediately giggled and winked at her. Yamuraiha resisted the urge to facepalm.

"...and today I am here to name this individual," Nick continued. "May Lady Raiha Matal come up here and stand beside me?"

Polite applause filled the courtyard as Yamuraiha slowly made her way up to the stage. Her eyes met Nick's, and she could see the question in his eyes. Did she really want this?

" _May I have this dance?" Stormy gray eyes._

" _Mo~ron." Sky blue._

" _Idiot." Jade green._

" _You look nice today." Captivating gold._

She had decided. Looking at Nick, her mouth opened as she formed her answer.

.

.

 _Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—_

 _I took the one less traveled by,_

 _And that has made all the difference._

* * *

 **A/N: Imagine the end as you'd like. HAHA you didn't think I'd actually end it like that huh?**

 **Listen up. I really, really do appreciate each one of you for taking the time to read this. I did not expect this story to get this popular so fast, and so I'm just blown away by the great response.**

 **I'm going to keep this short, as this chapter is so long-ass it makes everything else pale in comparision. Just know I love you all, I'll try to reply to your reviews, and I EXPECT A LOTTA REVIEWS FROM THIS. :( LOL jkjk. Although it'd be nice to hear your thoughts.**

 **(This was originally supposed to be a Cinderella omake since nobody gave me a Disney prompt. The main ship was supposed to be Nick/Raiha.)**

 **(LOL I didn't mean for Lynn to even pop up: he was supposed to be at the magician show thing Alyasa wanted to see. The characters write themselves lol.)**

 **QUESTIONS OF THE CHAPTER:  
1) Rate the ships. Rate your ships. Tell me who you ship.  
2) Did you like reading AUs like this?  
3) Please tell me I'm not the only Lynn/Raiha shipper anymore.  
4) anything else lololol**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Um...guys. When I said I was expecting reviews last chapter I was joking, in case you didn't get the notice.**

 **Like, WHAT. The review count went from 101 to 119. The first four-ish reviews were within an hour. I'm serious. Dead serious. I was doing some other stuff, happened to pull out my phone, and choked when I saw that happen.  
**

 **Oh, by the way, if any of you read my Akatsuki no Yona fanfiction _Soar_ , I'm currently working on a collaboration for Christmas with two other prominent fanfiction authors in the fandom.**

 **Also, I'm planning out a fairly large group collaboration on a story, so I'll get back to ya'll with more information when that's finalized. Ya'll should check it out. ;D *hints non-too-subtly***

 **More notes at the bottom of the chapter.**

* * *

" _Hi, it's Elliot. I'm not available right now, so please leave a message after the beep and I'll get right back at'cha…"_

" _...yo, El? El, it's me, Alex. You haven't been replying to all of my calls and texts for the past week, and I'm really worried. I tried going to...to your dad's place, but they wouldn't tell me anything." A ginger haired boy sighed frustratedly, running his hand through his hair hurriedly. His voice was a bit hoarse as he tried to muster some words that could convey his feelings. He wanted to say more...so much more, but he didn't know how to express himself. "El...I'm your best friend. And I know that...that things have been bad recently, but I'm always here for you. So please...please pick up."_

" _Alex!" A girl approached the boy on his cell phone, her face a pallid white. "Oh, God, Alex, have you heard?_

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

" _...heard?" His heart was thumping, and somehow his instincts screamed that something was wrong. The girl suddenly burst into tears, uncontrollable sobs racking her entire body, and he rushed over to pat her on the back comfortingly, shutting off his phone. When her tears had significantly stopped, he asked urgently, "Clara, what's the matter? What happened?"_

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _She burst into tears again, but through her sobs he could understand what she was trying to say._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thumpthumpthumpthump-_

 _They found her under the bridge. She was gone._

 _And the world suddenly felt surreal, everything spinning and disappearing in front of his eyes as he fell to the ground, clutching onto his cell phone tightly. "It...no...she's not…" he gritted his teeth before dialing her all-too-familiar number again, his fingers shaking as he desperately tried to deny the truth._

" _...hi, it's Elliot. I'm not available right now-"  
The sound of her voice drove Clara into a fresh round of tears._

* * *

"You cheated," Alyasa accused, slamming the door behind the two of them once they had entered the room. "There's no way someone can get a score that high, lest of all someone like _you_."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Yamuraiha replied breezily, choosing to ignore the girl's accusation. She let herself lie down on the bed and stared at the white ceiling disinterestedly. Her mind was already racing with plans for the next few days.

She had proved herself competent in regards to magical theory, which was good. Yamuraiha had studied her ass off for that, and she would've been more disappointed if she _didn't_ achieve a high score. And she even got a higher score than Lynn, another bonus. She'd rub that in his face later.

It was interesting that they didn't encounter whatever the 'mental trial' would be. Sera had told her that after the second part of the preliminary test, aka the whole stamina thing, they should've had a mental test. But instead they skipped it and did a theoretical test...the thought that Magnoshutatt was making changes to its testing system was not comforting. She thought she had everything planned out thanks to Sera's many attempts at getting in and broad knowledge about Magnoshutatt.

She still wouldn't put it past Magnoshutatt to conduct the mental trial next. Whatever the case, she had to be prepared for all possible scenarios.

"Alyasa…" she called, stopping the girl in mid-rant. "What can you tell me about those groups they were talking about earlier?"

"You got a score _that high_ on the test and don't even know?" Alyasa asked scornfully, but when Yamuraiha just neutrally shrugged, she rolled her eyes and indulged her question. "Each year is divided into groups depending on your talent. The most revered and elite is Group A, which only takes the top ten magicians. Next is Group B, which includes the next twenty five. Group C is the largest, with all the leftovers who passed. There are even different teachers for each group."

"Can you switch groups once you've been sorted?" Yamuraiha asked curiously.

"At the beginning of each year, there's an opportunity for people to try out for the group higher than their current group. But those in Group A stay, unless the teacher says otherwise. Group B members can move down if they're not careful, though, because they always keep a quota of twenty five," Alyasa informed importantly. "My father's the Magical Theory instructor for Group A, third years."

"Interesting," Yamuraiha nodded at the influx of information. She filed that away for further use. This all was definitely not a part of the original series, but she chalked it down to time differences and renovations in how the Academy worked.

"I guess…" Alyasa said reluctantly, obviously not finding the intricate structure of the school system the least intriguing. At times like this Yamuraiha wished she had Nick to converse with: he'd definitely be pointing out the flaws of such a system beside her. After all, the glaringly obvious point was that eventually groups A and B would outnumber those in group C, and with (probably) less talented instructors in the lower groups, they probably didn't stand that much of a chance for promotion unless they did outside studying.

She heard knocking on the door and sighed, lazily getting off of the bed and creaking open the door slightly. "Oh, Sera! And Lynn," she added the second name as an afterthought, her easy dismissal obviously annoying the blonde haired boy.

"Hi, Raiha. Congratulations on your score," Sera said kindly, smiling at her. She beamed at him and returned the congratulations, making the white haired boy blush slightly. "I could've done better," he admitted. "I was speaking with Lynn earlier about some of the questions and realized that I was a bit too focused on some sub-points and realized I missed explaining the most important points."

"As always, you have to take a step back," Yamuraiha shook her head half in amusement and half out of exasperation. "But I guess I can't speak. I was rambling a bit too much on that one essay question about the uses of magic that I didn't have time to finish my paragraph about the evolution of magical items."

"You nerds," Alyasa deadpanned. "Get out if you're going to talk about the test. All you do is study all day, I swear."

The three of them exchanged looks before stepping out of the room with a cheerful wave, which obviously annoyed Alyasa. "You too, Lynn?" Alyasa called, sounding somewhat disappointed.

"It's interesting," Lynn shrugged nonchalantly, keeping a straight face until Yamuraiha closed the door. Once she closed the door, however, the blonde immediately returned to his normal scowl. "I can't believe you room with someone like _that._ "

"She's...interesting," Yamuraiha chose her words carefully, shrugging with a look on her face that clearly spelled ' _what can you do?_ '. "She has some interesting things she talks about."

"Rather than make-up, her awesomeness, and the awesomeness of females?" Sera questioned, obviously having heard some of the girl's ranting. Probably during the time periods where Yamuraiha and Lynn had been separated for their citizenship.

Yamuraiha waved the matter aside. "Anyways, so what do you two know about the next test?" she pressed, eyes sharpening. "Have you heard anything?"

Lynn looked unenthusiastic as he shook his head, but Sera lit up. "I heard from one of the guys in my testing session that the mental trial's next," Sera informed. "It's not like Magnoshutatt to suddenly take out something as big as that anyways."

"Any idea on what it might be?" Yamuraiha asked, keeping her voice casual and lighthearted. To her disappointment, Sera shook his head. Oh, well. That was a whole lot better than her musing and guessing from before.

There really was no way to prepare for it, then. Yamuraiha frowned, but she shook off her disappointment and instead nudged Sera when she saw his downtrodden face. "Why don't we head out and check out the district for now, then? I already know some places that seem a bit interesting."  
Sera brightened. "Right!" Glancing at Lynn, who was strangely silent for once, he addressed the blonde. "Lynn, would you like to come as well?"

"I guess," Lynn said uncomfortably, shoving his hands in his pockets and following the two magicians out of the dorms.

The three of them walked in an amiable silence, each musing and off in their own thoughts as they made their way through the town. They were beginning to enter the area with plenty of shops, and Yamuraiha's eyes skimmed over all the names (clothing...food...more clothing) before she found something of interest.

"Ah, a book shop!" The three exclaimed at the same time in exact synchronization. They all blinked and stared at each other for a moment, not sure of what to make of having other friends who were as interested in magic as they were.

"Uh…" Yamuraiha said hesitantly after an extended moment of silence. "Shall we all go in?"

"Sure!" Sera beamed while Lynn gave a more muted response of a shrug and an "I guess".

They entered the shop and immediately the three zoomed off to different sections. Yamuraiha herself was examining the wide section of philosophy books, her eyes particularly scrutinizing the books dealing with reincarnation. She picked out an interesting looking one before glancing over to see where her other companions had went. Spotting white hair, she made her way to Sera. "Didn't take you for one to be in the fictional story section," she observed. "I would've thought you'd be over at the publications of recent scientific advancements over there."

"I just thought this was interesting." Sera showed her the scroll he was looking at. "It's gotten really popular in the Reim Empire recently."

Yamuraiha glanced curiously at the title and almost choked.

 _The Wonderous Adventures of Sinbad, the Dungeon Capturer._

"CanIseethis?" She spouted quickly, grabbing the scroll and literally throwing the book she had before to Sera. Before she knew it she was already skimming through the scroll, the tales of Sinbad and the former assassin Ja'far...their first dungeon...Drakon…

For the first time in nearly... _forever_ , Yamuraiha realized that this was actually happening. That this was actually Magi, and the plot was already moving. That if she didn't hurry her ass up and get stronger, she might be sucked into the whirlpool of the plot, and she knew that once she was in she'd never be able to escape its clutches.

"Uh...Raiha?" Sera asked cautiously. "Are you...alright? What's the matter?"

 _Oh, for Solomon's sake. Was she_ alright _? Of course not! The plot was already moving and it was so close, so exhilaratingly and terrifyingly close, and if she didn't do something about it she'd be shackled by the work of fate as well-_

Yamuraiha swallowed all of the bitter words that itched to come out of her mouth and instead plastered on a bright smile. It wasn't Sera's fault that she was reborn as Yamuraiha. "Yeah, fine," she answered vaguely. "Don't worry about it. Now, where's Lynn?"

The fact that she had invoked her not-really-sorta rival's name must have made Sera even more suspicious and worried, but the white haired boy was kind enough to let it go. "He's over in the magical theory section. We're not students yet, though, so I don't think we can buy anything yet. We should probably head out before it gets too dark."

After finding Lynn and nearly having to drag the blonde away from a particularly engrossing text about the practical applications of magic to trade routes (Yamuraiha honestly couldn't understand why the guy was so interested in _trade routes_ , of all things, although she admitted that they did have their uses and her old life's history teachers probably would murder her for not acknowledging their importance even by a bit), the three of them returned to their dorms, bidding each other goodbye at the second floor.

Yamuraiha sighed, re-entering her and Alyasa's room after finding it unlocked, and after preparing herself to go to bed she fell promptly asleep.

* * *

 _._

 _._

 _NEXT DAY, MENTAL TRIAL EXAMINATION_

 _._

 _._

* * *

"You have been given a piece of paper with a secret message on it. Our magicians have been given the task of trying to extract the information out of you, and you must resist for as long as possible. The amount of time that you resisted them will factor into your acceptance, although please note the practical and theoretical test are worth more."

Yamuraiha knew what her code word was: she had memorized it and burned the paper with a _Halhar_ spell. _Approaching bridge: drown target_.

It seemed like Fate had a twisted sense of humor.

"You will be paired with one of our senior magicians. They'll instruct you on where to go next," Feiste droned. "Don't piss them off. They'll be the only person evaluating you."

He began calling names, and after they went up to Feiste then a different magician would step up and escort them to somewhere else.

Yamuraiha prayed she would get a merciful interrogator.

Of course, Murphy's law had something against her.

"Raiha," Feiste called, and she made her way up to him. He lowered his voice. "Your theoretical score was quite noteworthy, with higher ups were hoping that you'd be able to handle your interrogator. He's a bit of a...sadistic sociopath if I must be honest. If you show that his words affect you he'll press the point, but otherwise he'll eventually get bored."

"Alright." Yamuraiha nodded dutifully. As soon as she said so, her instincts took over and she ducked, narrowly avoiding catching her hair on fire from the fireball sent her way.

A figure walked lazily towards her, his wand still brandished forward dangerously. "At least the kid's got some instincts, I'll give you that much, Feiste."

"Careful where you're brandishing that wand. We aren't supposed to hurt any of the recruits," Feiste warned. It felt like the entire rest of the magicians waiting for their names to be called were watching the exchange with wary eyes, which they probably were.

"Mogamett said no _permanent_ damage. And what he sees can't hurt nobody," the man shrugged. "Didn't expect the kid to be so small."

"I'm nine." Yamuraiha shrugged, noticing a few of the shocked-numb looks in the crowd. She spotted Lynn: his lips just twitched upwards a fraction in a half amused smirk at their reactions.

"Hey, hey, you're letting _kids_ into the Academy now?" Her interrogator rounded back around at Feiste, his expression unnerving many in the crowd. If Yamuraiha were to compare the man to the animal, it would be a serpent: cold and ruthless. He let out a dark chuckle. "What's wrong with you, eh? _That_ despite for new recruits?"

"She scored a near perfect score on the theoretical test and bested all the other recruits. I think I am entitled to say that she can hold her own," Feiste deadpanned. "And if you have a problem about how I run things, Erik, you can take it up to Lord Mogamett."

"Tch." The man momentarily acknowledged his loss before whipping around and facing Yamuraiha. "Come on, kid. Let's go have some fun." The way that Erik's eyes glinted in excitement sent a chill down her spine. She knew that several were sending her pitying looks behind her, but she ignored it and instead chose to levelly meet the man's eyes.

Her past life had conditioned her to put on a polite smile.

"Very well. Shall we go?"

* * *

"You're interesting," Erik noted as he escorted her along. "Not begging or screaming yet."

"You haven't even _done_ anything yet," Yamuraiha replied dryly, her body still tense and ready to defend herself at a moment's notice should something go awry. "Anyways, where are you leading me?"

"My secret laboratory where I'm going to torture you to death," Erik deadpanned. Yamuraiha was finding that she actually liked the sadist's dry sense of humor, despite the fact that he was exhibiting several warning signs of a sociopath. He actually reminded her of herself in a way, which probably wasn't the best thing.

Without warning, he spun around and shot another fireball straight at her head, and she couldn't help but flinch as its trajectory stopped right in front of her face, only inches away from her face. She could feel the heat of the glowing orb scorching her face, the flames reaching out greedily towards her. Her eyes were almost transfixed by the ever shifting colors of the flame, from blue to orange to red…

"Play time's over, kid. Your examination starts now," Erik stated, his voice smooth and eyes glinting as he snapped his fingers. Before she knew what was happening, she was being lifted into the air, higher...and higher...and higher...and higher…

It was a good thing that she wasn't afraid of heights, for she probably would've fainted out of fear. She could see other examinees glancing upwards and noticing her, their jaws dropping in shock. Their figures began to shrink as she was lifted to even higher elevations. She wasn't afraid of heights. She wasn't afraid of heights. She _wasn't_. Even so, it was unnerving to be at such a height, especially she knew what was going to happen next-

The magic that had been lifting her into the air suddenly disappeared, and she could feel the air whooshing past her as she _fell_.

Her body was like a stone without the magic supporting her, and she shut her eyes because she _knew_ she wasn't supposed to be using any Air Magic to stop her descent because this was a _mental trial_ for Solomon's sake, and they were supposed to see how much she could withstand before giving up.

She was approaching the ground now, she could feel it, and she forced her body to relax as she plummeted head first towards the ground.

There were several alarmed cries that called out, the wind still rushing past her at exhilarating speeds, but just when she was about to hit the ground she felt a wave of magic stop her descent in mid air.

"That was one of the most boring reactions I've had yet," Erik deadpanned, a disappointed frown on his face. Even so, she could see that there was a glint of respect in his eyes that wasn't there before, and she counted that as a win, at least. She was lowered to the ground, and for a moment just savored the feeling of earth beneath her feet before standing up and facing him. "Don't you know Air Magic?"

"It's a mental trial, I doubt you'd actually kill me, and yes, I do," Yamuraiha confirmed, dusting off her robes. "I decided to take a leap of faith."

"Interesting," Erik purred. "But we've just started."

.

.

" _I think this is child abuse!_ " Yamuraiha called, trying to keep her voice from wavering. She was dangling off of a cliff with a single rope tied around her left ankle keeping her from plummeting down to the rocky waters below. "I'm going to sue you!"

"Tough luck, sweetheart, but I'm being authorized to do this," Erik sneered, lighting the rope on fire. She screamed as she fell, but felt a tug on her ankle that was definitely magical and she was being lifted up again.

"Your passcode."

"Helluva no," she managed, her world still spinning.

Erik's expression suddenly shifted to one of glee, almost as if he was happy that he could continue mentally scarring her. Probably. The sadist. "Ready for round two?"

She didn't get the time to reply before she was thrown downwards again.

.

.

"Sadly I'm not actually allowed to do things like play with your fingernails," Erik mused, looking down at his singed and harrowed looking interrogatee. "Or stab you."

"Damn, I always aspired to be stabbed," Yamuraiha deadpanned, any of her politeness having seeped out of her long ago. All that was left was her dry humor, and even that was waning. "I've been shot at with fireballs, thrown up and down a cliff several times, had to run through a freezing arena, and have lost the ability to breathe. Several times. To be honest, I'm basically ready for anything you throw at me."

"You know, Raiha…" Erik smirked. "Though I can't use certain interrogation techniques, there's always others."

"...and that may be?"

"Water." Erik was delighted to see the teal haired girl's face finally turn a pallid white.

.

.

"Tell me the passcode."

"Go to Hell," she spat, and her head went underwater again. The water was making it hard for her to breathe, and even though she knew this was just an examination and there was no way that Erik could actually kill her, her heart was still pounding loudly and _oh god she couldn't breathe somebody help-_

There was a sharp tug on her hair and she was suddenly above water again. Yamuraiha was tied upside down by rope, dangerously hanging from the ceiling of a place that resembled a laboratory. Below her head was a trough of water, which she was lowered into every time she refused.

"The passcode."

"No," she threw back, her voice hoarse. "Son of a bitch."

Down she went again.

Up. Down. Up. Down.

She could feel her sanity slipping away, and knew that Erik's patience was probably dwindling as well.

 _Stop it...stop it...STOP. STOPSTOPSTOP-_

"Bridge," she croaked, and as soon as the word slipped out of her mouth she mentally slapped herself.

There was a blessed moment of silence before Erik cooed in a sugary sweet voice, "Go on."

"..." Yamuraiha refused to give anything further, and when Erik realized this his expression darkened.

"You don't want more, do you?" He demanded. Then his voice changed into a more alluring one. "If you tell me, then I can let you go...you can go back to your dormitory...your sweet, soft bed…"

"And fail? I think not," she managed, trying not to puke.

"Hm...well…" Whatever Erik was going to say was cut off by someone else's voice.

"What is going on here, Erik?" Feiste asked dangerously, and if Yamuraiha's vision wasn't so blurry she would've noticed Lynn trailing behind the tall magician. "I've heard several reports of your interrogatee plummeting to the gro-" his voice abruptly cut off when he fully stepped into the scene and took in everything.

"You _stupid fool_ ," Feiste hissed, and Yamuraiha felt him hurry over to her and some kind of warm feeling overtake her. Healing Magic? Probably. She was being untied and lowered to the ground, which was a plus. The blood that rushed to her head while she was upside down made it hard to think. "She's _nine_ , you idiot, not an adult like most of the people here. Even if she _was_ an adult, this is unethical. What the Hell did you think you were doing?"

"Testing her," Erik replied coolly, his voice darkening. "And from what I've seen you've gotta good one here, Feiste. She hasn't cracked yet, although she did give away one word. She actually didn't show any signs of breaking until I began drowning her."

She was still zoning in and out but could faintly hear in the background Erik list off her strengths and weaknesses with the voice of a professional.

"Physically wise she has a lot to go, but that can be factored into her age and current body frame. She can use Elemental Magic, to what extent I haven't tested yet, and is either extremely stubborn to not fail, determined to pass, or both. She tends to run her mouth off too much, something that'll get her in trouble with the wrong sorts of people. Also has way too much confidence for her own good, you gotta kick it down a notch. Although some of that self confidence is warranted," Erik acknowledged.

"Erik, you _know_ Mogamett said…"

"He's getting soft in his old age," Erik dismissed. "She's an interesting spec…magician. I'd definitely keep a close eye on her, though, or the kid might start picking a fight with every single jealous wuss who tries to insult her. Watch."

Erik swaggered over to her still convulsing body and kicked her in the ribs. "Oi, kid," he drawled. "Had enough yet?"

"Just...just try me you bastard," a half crazed laugh slipped out of her mouth as pain exploded in the area where he kicked her. "You can't break me even if you try your hardest."

Her eyes met Erik's, and a sardonic smirk spread over her face.

 _Because I'm already broken, dumbass._

"Lynn, bring her outside and go ask someone to escort you two to Shinya. She'll fix you two back up," Feiste ordered his interrogatee. The blonde, who she barely noticed had been silently hovering beside her, nodded and pulled Yamuraiha up to her feet.

"Come on, you moron," he grumbled, positioning her arm over his shoulder. "You just _have_ to always get into these kind of unique situations, don't you?"

"Life...wouldn't be...as fun, now, wouldn't it?" Yamuraiha laughed, her world still spinning as she allowed for herself to have a moment of weakness for once. It was humiliating for Lynn to see her in such a state: Yamuraiha was a prideful person by nature, and being that kind of person, she hated having to rely on other people in times like these. But as prideful as she could be, she had still retained enough of her intelligence to realize that trying to heal herself when a readily available healer was present nearby probably was stupid.

"Now, apologize," Feiste said to Erik in a low voice. The two had been talking while Lynn had helped her to her feet, although she didn't catch anything they had said.

"Oi, kid!" Erik called, not the least of remorse in his voice. Lynn and her stopped walking, and she turned around. His eyes were an olive green, she noted absentmindedly. "If you ever need a favor, come by my place. We can bargain with some favors here and there, and both of us can benefit."

" _Erik_ ," Feiste scolded, his tone wavering between serious and half exasperated.

Yamuraiha's lips twitched. "I'll hold you to your word," she called before she continued along with Lynn. A senior magician offering her help? Yes, please. She could figure out how to work that to her advantage later.

The two of them walked in silence for a little, only for the peaceful reverie to be broken by the blonde magician. "You look...terrible."

"Gee, thanks." She rolled her eyes, attempting to push a stray lock of teal hair behind her ear but failing miserably because her arms refused to cooperate.

"No...but…" Lynn trailed off, not able to find the words before finally just giving up and returning to his usual sulky self. Suddenly, he changed subjects. "You're not seriously going to return to that guy, are you?" He asked cautiously, and although she shook her head, there must have been something about Yamuraiha that belied her because his aquamarine eyes narrowed. "Are you stupid?"

"I don't think so. Are you?" She shot back, but it seemed as if Lynn wasn't in the aggressive mood because he just simply shrugged.

"Maybe I am."

Trying but failing to come up with a response to that, she instead chose to focus on the task at hand. "That person looks like a senior magician, we can ask them," she nodded in the direction of a man with dark blue hair.

"Ah, yeah. His name was Marth, remember? He read off the guys' names for the dorms yesterday." At Yamuraiha's blank look, Lynn rolled his eyes and sighed. "I have no idea how you got first place if you can't even remember that."

"I just remember what I need to remember. The lady's name was Edith or something, right?" Yamuraiha shrugged, still trying to push back that one annoying strand of teal hair that kept falling in front of her face and covering her eyes. To her surprise, Lynn absentmindedly reached over and pushed the strand of hair behind her ear, the action making her face blush a scarlet red ( _curse her genes, or this body's genes, or whatever for making it so easy to see when she blushed-_ ).

Lynn quickly withdrew when he noticed what he was doing, his face probably turning a similar shade of red, although it was hard to tell because he immediately turned away to hide his expression. "You just looked uncomfortable," he mumbled the excuse quickly. "Don't think too much of it."

"N-not like I would," Yamuraiha sniffed, and she fell silent as they approached Marth (was it?).

"Um, are you Professor Marth? Feiste told us to find someone to help us get to...Shinya, was it?" Lynn asked, and although the last part of his question was a bit more hesitant, he didn't show any fear or shyness like most other new recruits did when talking to a senior magician.

"Ah, yes…" Marth trailed off when he saw Yamuraiha's condition, and although his eyes widened a fraction he regained his composure easily. "I'll bring you to her. She's our best healer, and one of my close companions. If I remember correctly...she's probably teaching right now."

They were lifted into the air, and before Yamuraiha knew it they were standing in front of the entrance to a classroom. Marth peeked his head in, exchanging a few words with someone inside before a woman with short, chestnut brown hair exited the classroom. "Critical condition, you say, Marth?" She asked skeptically, but once she saw Yamuraiha her expression changed. "Stupid Marth, how did this happen this time? A duel? Another lab accident?"

The woman hurried over to her, a green light emitting from her hands as she placed them over Yamuraiha's ribs.

"She's an examinee, actually. Erik did quite a number on her during the mental trial," Marth replied quietly.

"Why are you, Edith, and Feiste giving _children_ over to him now?" She hissed, mainly concentrating on healing her.

"She scored the highest on the theoretical test. Four questions wrong, Shinya. There's only a few others who have gotten that high. Ever."

Yamuraiha couldn't see the woman's reaction, but by the way she felt Shinya stiffen she knew that his comment probably shocked her a bit. "I see…" the woman mumbled, still sounding disapproving although most of the anger had seeped out of her voice by then. "Cover my class for me. These third years have no idea what they're doing."

"Gotcha." Marth nodded, pausing a bit before entering the classroom. "Thanks, Shinya."

"What would you ever do without me, idiot?" The woman rolled her eyes, grumbling this statement under her breath although there was slightly fond tone in her voice. Turning to Yamuraiha the woman said sternly, "Now, listen here. I don't want you doing anything that might hurt your lungs or ribs for the next day. Although...I know that as usual you reckless magicians are just going to ignore my advice...at least can you promise me not to try straining yourself too much?"

"I'll try," Yamuraiha agreed, careful with her wording. Honestly, with her luck, she'd probably get into some kind of trouble soon enough.

"...that's the best I'll get, huh?" Shinya sighed, but she ruffled Yamuraiha's hair. "Just...don't try to grow up too fast, kid. It's not worth it."

"But sometimes necessity calls for it," Yamuraiha said cheerfully. "Thank you for fixing me up. I'll be going now."

"Not so fast." Shinya grabbed her and Lynn's sleeve, and the brunette gave the two one long, serious look. "You. Blondie. Make sure you watch over your friend: I don't want her becoming my regular visitor."

Lynn looked like he was about to protest at the title but ultimately decided against it and just nodded. Shinya's lips twitched upwards and she raised her staff, a flying magic carpet whisking them away and back to the dorms. They both stood in front of the dormitory entrance awkwardly.

Hands shoved in his pockets, Lynn mumbled, "I'm going to walk around for a bit more. You should go inside."

"Ah...yeah. See you." She nodded, and the blonde began walking off. Before he could walk several paces, she called, "Lynn!"

The boy turned around questioningly.

"I...uh...thanks," she said lamely. "For today."

Lynn stared at her. "You're creeping me out."

" _Oi_ , I really tried to be sincere," she protested. "At least _try_ to accept my gratitude."

The blonde walked off, lazily raising a single hand in a gesture of goodbye. "Yeah, yeah. Just get back to your normal annoying self soon, moron. Acting girly doesn't suit you."

"Go die," she deadpanned, but she knew she was smiling anyways.

* * *

Yamuraiha grabbed the door handle and twisted it.

Clink.

Her eyebrows creased in confusion. She tried again.

Clink.

Searching herself to see if she had brought her copy of the key, she realized that she had left it inside of the room. Yamuraiha mentally facepalmed. "...Alyasa?" She called. "Can you unlock the door?"

She heard the sound of a shower stopping, and after a few moments she heard footsteps approach the door. Relief flooded her: all Yamuraiha wanted to do was sleep, god damn it all. She was so tired.

The footsteps stopped in front of the door. Then, to her slight surprise, they started moving away again. "...Alyasa? _Alyasa_ ," she called, knocking. "Um, it'd be really helpful if you opened the door."

She heard a sniff from inside the room, and pressing her ear against the door she heard some kind of mumbled insult.

...she waited a few more minutes, knocking and listening for a response in intervals. Yamuraiha's patience was already worn thin because of Erik.

...that _bitch_.

Yamuraiha glowered, kicking the door for good measure before finally giving up and turning away from the door, making a beeline for a certain room.

.

.

 _Knock knock._

Sera sighed, getting up from his desk and setting down the scroll he was reading. It was probably Lynn again, considering the blonde always stayed up late training and never brought his key. Sera had curiously followed his roommate once secretly, and found the blonde practicing spells in a small empty pavilion over and over again.

Sera hadn't been sure about what think of his roommate before. He had known that Raiha had practiced and studied so hard to get here, but Lynn had always seemed like he was a natural genius. Seeing his roommate working so hard at magic made him respect Lynn a lot more, and when he tried to talk to him, Sera found that Lynn was similar to Raiha in a way. Both of them were prickly and somewhat stuck up to people, but if you looked past the exterior, both of them were extremely nice people.

He doubted that if Sera said something along those lines to the tealette and blonde, they'd agree. They'd probably eagerly deny the observation like the kind of people they were.

He opened the door and blinked in surprise. 'R-Raiha? Why are you here?" Realizing his tone of voice he began speaking extremely fast. "Uh, I mean, not like I don't like you being here. It's just that I was expecting Lynn and all. You look...tired."

"Can I borrow your bed for a bit?" Raiha asked tiredly, and Sera nodded quickly.

"I'm just studying, so I won't be going to sleep for a while. Go ahead." As soon as he said so the girl rushed past him and nearly threw herself on one of the two white beds. But that was...

He blinked, opening his mouth to say something, but heard her quiet, deep breaths and knew that she had already fallen asleep.

...what kind of mental trial did she _have_?

Sera shrugged and returned back to work.

.

.

.

.

"...ah, morning already?" Yamuraiha mumbled. Then she registered something. Blonde hair.

Blink.

Blink again.

…

No. Way.

" _WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SLEEPING NEXT TO ME?"_ Yamuraiha screeched, scrambling out of the covers as fast as she humanely could. Unfortunately for Lynn, the sudden movement basically made him roll off of the bed and onto the floor.

"...ow...what the…" Lynn glanced up and choked. " _WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN OUR ROOM?_ "

"I ASKED SERA," she shot back.

"WELL, WHY WERE YOU IN MY BED?"

"I thought…" Yamuraiha glanced over to the side and saw Sera sleeping peacefully in the other bed. Oh. Whoops. "Well...even so... _why didn't you at least sleep on the floor?_ Do you have no shame?"

"It was dark by the time I got back, I didn't even know you were there!"

" _So?_ You just slipped into bed and didn't notice me?"

"It's your fault for even coming here! Why are you even here?"

"Alyasa locked me out," she snarled.

"Well then, what about your key?"

" _Both of you stop it!_ " Sera intervened between them. Sending the two a sour look, he folded his arms and scolded, "You two are being way too loud. Stop being so childish. Raiha, you should try returning to your room now. Lynn...for once in your life, just shut up and deal with it. No harm done. You both got a lot of sleep. And...and…"

The two sent a questioning look at the white haired boy. "You guys are going to kill me for this, but...well, you both looked a lot more comfortable and peaceful in your sleep like that so I didn't want to disturb you two."

Yamuraiha blinked, not sure how to take that statement. Eventually she shrugged it off and mumbled, "I'm heading back to my room. See you."

(She ended up manipulating the Rukh to open up the door from the inside and wondered why she didn't try that in the first place. Alyasa's surprised look when she woke up was a plus, though.)

* * *

 **A/N: Omigod help me I don't even know why that fluff slipped in there. My adorable precious babies. These characters are so cute and fun to write.**

 **The beginning scene in italics, in case you haven't figured it out, is from our world. :D Let's watch adorable Alex start figuring out why Raiha, now revealed as "El" or "Elliot", killed herself. He's so cute. I hope you guys like (or learn to like) him haha.**

 **But anyways OMGSGHJSGLKHSFLIS the response for the last chapter was phenomenal. I can't even...bro, you guys increased the review count by like 20%. O_O I knew there were a lot of lurkers out there.**

 **In honor of these reviewers I'll answer/respond stuff here. Important stuff is bolded.**

 **(By the way, thank you to basically all of you for the ship inputs LOLOLOL. It helped me see how everyone's taking things. :D)**

response to **xenocanaan** : welp you guys definitely will be **seeing more AUs** in the future haha. Personally I support **all the ships** (though I personally can't see much of Sinbad/Raiha yet but that's because I'm a biased Sinja shipper) but Lynn's suddenly swept me away the past few chapters. Before was Sharrkan. And before that was Nick. **Nontypical pairing, eh?** Well at the very least I can say you'll see Muu. And Judar. And the Kou royalty peeps. I can't promise how those relationships will go yet though haha.

response to **lizyeh2000** : Thanks so much~ :D But it's only because of all of you that this happened. ^^

response to **Mystic Wing:** LOL there is another Sharrkan shipper. ;D I think I converted everyone with the heavy fluff from the karaoke AU LOL.

response to **TheRandomGirl** : WHAT YOU POSTED TWO REVIEWS YOU AMAZING PERSON. I must say that everything you said was very thought provoking and it really helped me, so thank you very much. ^^ Ahhhh just **choosing one love interest** makes me feel bad so that's why I just have ship teases. :D **Lynn and Raiha** will have a very interesting relationship, as this chapter kind of showed. LOL. They're so adorable. **Nick and Raiha** well...they **will meet again** if things go the way I want them to. But the story writes itself. I must say you worded every relationship beautifully *claps*. I'd say, to go along with your analogy, if Nick is the past and Lynn is her present, then Sharrkan is a representation of a possibility of her future. I can't see Sinbad/Raiha that much either rn too tbh, but I feel like he'll be an interesting character to write because OMG SINBAD IS BAE. So...yeah.

response to **Shinonome Sakuya:** LOL don't worry we'll see **more canon interactions with Sharrkan/Raiha and Lynn/Raiha**. Eventually. Right now, mainly Lynn, but if things go as planned you'll see Sharrkan too. And Nick. And...well...Sinbad is basically going to be that one "half flirt half serious" character who you never really can figure out if he's serious or not. If things go as planned he'll probably use cringey pick up lines LOL. That's all I'll reveal.

response to **Kirei Ao Tori** : Well LOL my ships...all of them are undecided. :D So basically I couldn't choose between any of those three haha~ *salutes* Good job soldier.

reponse to **MonochromeSky4814** : LOL if you'd like nice, easily shippable OCs I recommend you read Marshmellowtime's works. They're a work of art. Trust me man plenty of stories have confusing ships. :D You can **check my profile for good stories** , because I always favorite good ones that way everyone can see them.

response to **Nights of Fire** : AHHHH YES I WAS HOPING SOMEONE CAUGHT THAT ONE RING SENTENCE. Gosh that was like, me being sadistic with overdoses of fluff LOL. HIGH FIVE MAN.

response to **Anime no Akuma** : AHHH there you are my first Sharrkan shipper LOLOLOL. *high fives* And in the end...she choose...JA'FAR! (Lol jkjk) (she obviously ran in the sunset romantically with Mogamett)

response to **musicisalifestyle** **:** Annnnnd as always here you are reviewing again. :) AHHHH YES THAT'S ME EXACTLY LYNNNNNN WHY MUST YOU BE SO CUTE AND SHIPPABLE DARN IT? All I wanted was a rival...just a rival... Oh yeah LOL I didn't do that badly on my test so thanks to you (and all the other reviewers who noticed and commented about it lol)~

response to **Guest (1)** : YES STAY LOYAL TO YOUR NICK/RAIHA SHIP MY CHILD. Don't be a bad person like me and attempt to stay on all the ships at the same time or you'll fall in the water. XD

response to **Nanbaka** : Um...yeah. Whoops lol there goes Alyasa's popularity. More AUs are great haha. And as I've expressed before I'm for all the ships soooo ;D But I definitely see what you mean about Nick.

response to **iluvfairytail** : Nice penname LOL~! I actually wrote a fanfiction for Fairy Tail awhile ago but I haven't been able to keep up with the series basically after the GMG arc. *sweatdrops* I'm sorry for being such a cruel author and leaving it like that. LOL. I love you all I swear.

response to **Guest (2):** I will do my best at not making things weird then haha. ;D Nice to see a multi-shipper here. :D

response to **ShinaDark** : OMG I didn't even realize it seemed otome-ish lolololol. Amnesia's amazing, and I got to admit that the opening...ending? Zoetrope was what got me into it. XP

response to **a** : I must say I checked out your profile and for the life of me I can't figure out this mysterious code of yours for your username. ;P I actually analyzed the Road Not Taken a few years ago too haha, and I have to admit that it was the first thing that popped into my mind when I was like "I NEED A POETIC SOUNDING LINE ABOUT CHOOSING STUFF". Yep.

response to **Kreuz13** : Ahhh a **theorist~!** Well, the italicized scenes in the beginning of the chapters will start giving more clues. ;P Got the FMA reference. I'd say theory 1 is closest, but you still have a lonnnnnnnnng way to go (*cue Mulan music*)

.

 **Ah yes, on a side note, there were two references in this chapter to past omakes and stuff. Can you find them? ;P**

 **I'm also planning a Mystic Messenger inspired Christmas special. Not sure how that's going to work but I got obse** **ssed with it so...so... (feel free to rant to me, fellow MM fans~)**

 **(AHHHH WE'RE IN THE TWO HUNDREDS FOR BOTH FOLLOWERS AND FAVORITE-ERS YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE GIMME A HUG. GROUP HUG. NOW.)**

 **Yeah, so um tell me what you think of everything. ^^ A lot of stuff in the author's notes are helpful and cool too if you've read that far. Thanks for reading~**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: ...twenty six reviews. Is there some kind of conspiracy like "let's give the author a heart attack" that I don't know about? And these reviews weren't just the "PLEASE UPDATE XOXO!" reviews either. They were thought provoking, kind, and interesting reviews. Like wtf you guys are too good for me.**

 **Sorry this took so long. Enjoy the hints. Enjoy the ship teases.**

 **Lots of stuff in the bottom A/N. Try to read it? Thanks. ;)**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 _Alex barely noticed where his feet had taken him. His mind was in a daze, reality seeming more dreamlike than real. All her could hear was her voice...her voice, over and over and over and over again. He called her number, the same voicemail that he had already memorized playing over again. If he could close his eyes he could almost imagine she was here, beside him like she usually was. He heard her voice, not the apathetic, ever echoing one of her voicemail, but her_ voice _, full of life._

 _._

" _My name's Alex. And you?"_

" _...Elliot, but I'm sure you already knew that."_

" _Elliot, huh? Well, I hope we'll get along."_

" _...Mm. Whatever."_

 _._

" _You know what, I don't think the name Elliot suits you. Doesn't El fit better?"_

" _...El? What's with that..?"_

" _Ahah! I knew you could smile. I saw that already, don't try to hide it~"_

" _...oh, shut up."_

 _._

" _Hey, El, we're going to be friends from now on."_

" _...friends?"_

" _Yep! You'll be here for me, and I'll be here for you. That's how friends work."_

" _Hm...is that so…"_

" _Oi, oi, what's with that lackluster response? Where's the sudden epiphany and dramatic music as you realize how important I am to you~?"_

" _...eh."_

 _._

" _Ah, thanks Alex."_

" _No problem. What would you ever do without me, haha?"_

" _...I wouldn't know anymore."_

" _..."_

" _..."_

" _...s-stupid, now you made things awkward. You're supposed to be all like 'I can survive without you, Alex' and then I wail about the unfairness of life."_

" _...you're ridiculous."_

" _But you love me anyways~"_

 _._

" _Ah, I found you, El. Were those girls...were they bothering you again?"_

" _..."_

" _..._ El _."_

" _...it's nothing much, I'm used to it."_

" _You_ stupid _idiot. I've told you once and I'll tell you again, I'm your friend. And I'll always be here for you. Always."_

" _...really?"_

" _Forever and forever."_

 _._

" _Uh.. I don't think I can do this, Alex."_

" _Don't be silly, I know you can, El. You're...you're strong. And what guy wouldn't like you?"_

" _You're too good for me."_

" _..."_

" _Thanks for always being my friend, Alex."_

" _...yeah, yeah, El...just get going before you use up all of your courage."_

 _._

" _El? ...El? Ah, there you are."_

" _..."_

" _Look, I'm sorry El. If I had known that he didn't like you I wouldn't have…"_

" _It's fine, Alex. I guess that my background and lack of femininity scares everyone away."_

" _No...no, El."_

" _...Alex?"_

" _I'm here. I'll..I'll always be here."_

" _...Alex? What do you mean by that? H-hey, where are you going? Idiot, wait for me. Wait a minute...are you blushing?"_

" _...shaddup."_

" _Awwwwww, how cute."_

" _I-I said shut up!"_

" _You're being very...what's the term again? Oh, yeah, tsundere."_

" _So you_ were _listening to my rants! There's still hope... we'll make you into an otaku for sure!"_

" _..."_

" _Oi, I am_ not _a tsundere."_

" _Whatever you say, Alex."_

 _._

" _Hey... Alex?"_

" _Mm?"_

" _Why did you nickname me 'El'?"_

" _Ah...well... I just thought it suited you, I guess."_

" _Is that so? ...should I call you Lex or something then?"_

" _Nah. Sounds too close to 'Elex'."_

" _...were the guys teasing you about me again?"_

" _A bit. Don't worry about it."_

" _... Alex, you don't need to hang out with me. I get it if you leave."_

" _...El, I'll say this again and again. I'm your...your best friend. I'm not going to just_ leave _you. And don't you go leaving me either."_

" _Of course not, idiot."_

.

" _El...El? God, El, are you alright? I heard about...about your father."_

" _Yeah, I'm sure the media is having a field day right now…"_

" _El...are you alright?"_

" _I don't know. I...I really don't know. He...he was my dad, you know? I can't just...just...forget about him. Even after everything, he's still my dad."_

" _El…"_

" _...Alex?"_

" _Mm?"_

" _You're not going to leave me, right?"_

" _Never. And you're not going to leave me all by my lonesome, right?"_

" _...right."_

 _._

 _._

 _He was dialing her number again._

" _Hi, it's Elliot. I'm not available right now, so please leave a message after the beep and I'll get right back at'cha…"_

" _God," he muttered. "No...no...please…she...she's...it can't be…she...she is..." His expression crumbled. "One more time. One more time. One more...one more...please." If he could redo everything that had happened so far, if he could exchange his happiness with her pain, if he could...if he could just see her again, even for a second..._

* * *

Yamuraiha woke up in a start. For a moment, it felt as if she was in her past life all over again: she was in bed, waiting for Alex's daily phone call that always greeted her at the start of the day.

( _Oh_ God _, Alex...he had always been there for her, always…and now she wasn't there for him...she could hear him, his laughter, his voice, always full of warmth...his smile that always comforted her..)_

And then she remembered where she was and shut her eyes, shaking away those memories. She didn't want to think of that life, not now. Because...because then, she'd have to think about all the people that she left behind.

She was Elliot. No, she was Yamuraiha. She was El. No...she was Raiha.

All these names swirled in her head, each identity tugging at her, begging for her to assume their mantle once again. Yamuraiha forced herself to push all of them out of her head. She probably could've brooded for a much longer period of time, but all her thoughts were interrupted by several hurried knocks on her door.

"...uh, Raiha? Are you up yet?" Sera's muffled voice called.

"Coming," she answered, struggling out of bed and getting ready as quickly as she possibly could. Alyasa had awoken from the knocking as well, and the two of them simply ignored each other as they got ready to go outside.

After a few moments of rushing around, Yamuraiha finally deemed herself satisfactory for going outside and opened the door. "Yeah?" she asked, struggling to tame a few unruly knots in her hair.

"They're posting who passed the entrance exams today, and then right after that they'll be doing one last thing to sort us into groups," Sera informed pleasantly, and Yamuraiha nodded before briefly meeting eyes with Lynn, who was standing behind the white haired boy. His teal blue eyes were studying her with such an intensity that she was momentarily thrown off her guard. Yamuraiha quickly shook it off, though, and addressed him.

"...ready to see my name above yours?" She challenged.

"You wish," Lynn rolled his eyes. "I'll have you know that they're doing magical combat today, and that's what I'm best at."

"Oh, yeah? We'll see about that."

"Keep dreaming. You'll never beat me."

"I wouldn't say seeing you in my sleep is a dream. More like a nightmare."

"You just _wish_ you could dream about me."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"I don't need to convince myself that I'm talented. I _know_ I am."

"Arrogant, much?"

"Remind me again...who was the person who kept provoking their interrogator? Who was the person who I had to drag all the way to a Healer again?"

"...I like to test my limits."

" _Sure_. So you probably figured out how low your limits are."

" _STOP FLIRTING!_ " The exclamation was enough to make the two of them shut up immediately as they both turned to see the source. "Both of you…" Sera growled. "If you two start arguing _one more time_ , I'm going to throw you out of the window."

(Their mouths, which had opened to deny his assumption that they were flirting, shut firmly.)

"Been there, done that," Yamuraiha drawled, but she forced herself to tone down the friendly ( _...maybe?_ ) competitiveness. As soon as she said so, Alyasa emerged from their room, grumbling something under her breath about how early they had to wake up. Yamuraiha didn't feel as disgruntled as that thanks to the numerous times when she woke up early to help out in the kitchen back in Musta'sim. And the times when she'd wake up early to practice magic.

"Let's just...go," Sera said dejectedly, rolling his eyes and pushing them along. "You two are hopeless. Alyasa, are you coming?"

"Of course I am," Alyasa sniffed, and she marched past them. Yamuraiha couldn't help but sweatdrop at the action but just shrugged and went along with it. Lynn muttered something about the stupidity of teenaged girls like Alyasa, and Yamuraiha had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

"Ah, here they are!" Sera pointed at a crowd of magicians congregating around several bulletin boards. He turned around to Yamuraiha and explained, "These are just the temporary rankings right now. After the magic combat part, then the positions are finalized. Thus...uh, well, the magic combat round can get pretty bad, considering people are desperate since it's their last chance to get in the Academy or into whatever group they want to be in."

"So, basically, we should expect dirty fighting," Lynn surmised.

"...uh...yeah…" Sera trailed off awkwardly. "Professors Marth, Edith, and Feiste are the proctors, but each of them are supervising over three matches each at the same time, so they miss some stuff. Plus, there's not actually any _official_ rules, and they want to see your 'creativeness'."

"Hm…" Yamuraiha hummed. "Just three, though?"

"Sometimes Sir Mogamett or other high ranking officials come to watch and see if any of the new recruits are talented," Sera informed. "Well, Sir Mogamett almost always comes because he's the head, but I heard that some other important people were coming today."

"Ah, Sera, our ever reliable information source," Yamuraiha said mournfully.

"What would we ever do without you?" Lynn added.

"You two are so stupid." Sera rolled his amethyst eyes. "Looks like everyone's seen the rankings. Let's check it out."

 _Magnoshutatt Entrance Exams (initial-theoretical-mental)_

...

…

 _5 ~ Lynn Vastilga (30-244-95)_

 _5 ~ Raiha (30-253-86)_

 _note: Miss Raiha, please remember that you are "six" for the sake of convenience._

…

…

 _14 ~ Sera Alhara (27-234-78)_

…

…

 _19 ~ Alyasa Seréa (25-227-50)_

"..."

The three of them stared at that list for a long period of silence.

"...um, congratulations you two?" Sera said hesitantly.

"...Erik, that sadistic _bastard_ ," Yamuraiha growled. "I bet he _planned_ for my score to be exactly enough so I'm tied with _this_ idiot just for his entertainment."

"Congrats, Sera," Lynn offered, twitching at the insult. "You're in Group B right now. If you do well on this part there's a good chance you can move up."

"Thanks, Lynn, but I'm pretty alright with staying in Group B right now. I don't think I'm good enough to be part of Group A yet," Sera laughed awkwardly. "And I think it'd be too much pressure on me for my first year."

"Do whatever you think is best for you," Yamuraiha advised wisely. "I just want to learn as much as possible right now because I can." That was a half lie, considering she _had_ to have some info for Musta'sim soon, but Yamuraiha honestly was the kind of person to shoot for the stars rather than just the moon.

"Same," Lynn shrugged neutrally. "By the way, my name's above yours."

" _Alphabetical_ order, Lynn. It's just because of your name."

"Touché."

"All applicants, report here now," Feiste's voice boomed, and heads turned to see the man standing in front of a marble pillar. Slowly the crowd began to move, and once everyone was there Feiste continued. "We have drawn lots to determine the matches. The combat round will be administered in a tournament style. We have made a change this year to the normal testing routine in which only _one_ match will go on at a time, and all applicants shall be watching and studying your fighting style. Keep in mind what you want to reveal of your skills. Sir Mogamett and other officials are here today, so if you want to impress them, do your best. However, your opponents will also be able to see your repertoire, so be wary. Our proctor for each match will rotate cyclically, and the other proctors will watch from the side and give you scores."

Marth, ever recognizable by his blue hair, explained, "The scores are cumulative: a maximum of 30 points per match, so try not to get out. However, your skills will determine how many points you will get. If you win but battled with little skill or tact, the loser still may get more points."

Edith, the only female proctor, stepped up. Two slips of paper lifted from the box in her hands, and her eyes scanned over the papers before announcing, "Our first match for today is number 17 and number 53!"

.

.

The match was between a cocky looking black haired guy and a shivering brunette. The guy, ranked 17th, ended up winning, but considering he continuously mocked the girl and humiliated her, only twenty-five points were awarded to him instead of thirty. The girl, despite her lackluster performance, got a surprising score of fifteen. She had to be carted off to a healer.

.

.

"44 and 98."

"71 and 15."

More and more people were called up, in almost all cases the higher ranking person winning. The only exception was a match between 27 and 38. The former had gotten cocky and basically had his ass kicked. 38, of course, was awarded a lot of points.

.

.

"14 and 12," Edith called, the high numbers making many people turn back to attention.

Yamuraiha blinked. Wasn't fourteen…

Sera gulped. "Uh...wish me luck?"

"You can do it," she said, squeezing his shoulder. "You're resourceful enough."

"Keep a level head and look at everything before acting," Lynn advised.

"Thanks." Sera hurried off.

.

.

"And...go," Feiste drawled. Immediately, Sera jumped back just in time to avoid the Sound waves sent towards him. Interesting. A Sound Magician.

He recalled that they could possibly control minds with the sound waves, _and_ that their second affinity was Water Magic. That'd be troublesome.

Sera noted the Sound Magician's loud breathing after the attack. Not enough stamina, but judging by the damage the waves did on the ground, he was a heavy hitter.

Sera experimentally shot a wave of Air magic, which was repelled by more Sound waves. Hm. Intriguing. Sera wanted to analyze Sound Magic more, but knew that he didn't have enough time anymore.

A large amount of wind began to swirl around the training ground, picking up dust slowly before it began to accelerate. It essentially blocked the rest of the fight from the audience, although Feiste (who was proctoring) and the judges would undoubtedly find a way to see it all. Sera was lucky enough to be born in the desert. Sand storms, or in this case, dust storms, were hardly new to him.

He shot forward, towards the figure or the Sound magician and sent several Wind bullets. The magician flailed, his hands grasping for his staff, but Sera easily kicked it away from reach.

"You can't tell, but my staff is aimed at your throat right now. Do you forfeit?" he asked coolly.

"Y-yeah," the magician choked.

The storm came to a stop, and the magician coughed before glancing at Sera in surprise. "You...no...staff?"

"If you had been paying attention, I was raising my staff the entire time to maintain the storm," Sera informed. "Thanks for forfeiting, though. I hate violence."

He could faintly hear the cheers of his friends behind him.

"...I give, you won fair and square," the magician sighed. Sera offered his hand and pulled the magician up to his feet.

"Your Sound Magic is really powerful," Sera complimented.

"I need more practice. Haven't been doing it for very long. Using the ground was pretty smart, though," the guy laughed. "Good luck on the other matches. The name's Lex, by the way."

"Sera." They nodded at each other.

.

.

"78 and 90," Edith announced as Sera and his opponent returned.

"Nice work," Lynn high fived Sera. He glanced over at Raiha, who looked preoccupied. "Oi, moron, aren't you going to congratulate him on his win?"

"...it can't be…" Raiha mumbled. Lynn's eyebrows creased at the strange comment.

"...what?" He asked, but instead of responding, Raiha took a few shaky steps forward before breaking out into a full run, dashing past them and plenty of other magicians. Lynn and Sera shared one look before they ran after her.

After a few moments of searching he spotted teal hair and nudged Sera. They quietly creeped up to the scene.

"Alex," Lynn could barely make out the name that slipped out of Raiha's mouth in a hushed tone. In her voice there was a hint of... _something_ that annoyed Lynn. "Alex...is that you?"

"Uhhhh...I think you have the wrong person…? My name's Lex," Sera's opponent introduced himself. Lynn noted his emerald green eyes and ginger hair distantly. "I guess the names are similar, though?"

"Ah...I...you…" Raiha mumbled. Clearing her throat, she said, "Sorry, I thought you were someone else. He looks a lot like you. The name's E...Ya...Raiha." She offered her hand. Lynn noted that her smile was wobbling precariously, but when Raiha noticed his close scrutinizing any uncertainty washed out of her face, her eyes sharpening and guard up again.

Lex took it, laughing sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "No problem. Although that's the first time I've heard that. Gingers are pretty scarce."

"I meet interesting people," she shrugged. "Oh, and Lynn and Sera? Don't just awkwardly watch us."

The two magicians coughed awkwardly and joined the scene. "Yo, I'm Lynn."

"Nice to see you again, Lex," Sera said warmly.

"Ah, yeah." Lex rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and laughed, but Lynn wasn't really paying attention to _him_. He was watching Raiha: her eyes were flickering with such a large myriad of emotions in such a fast pace that he could barely keep up with them. The most prominent of the emotions though...was…

 _Regret._

Lynn was familiar with that look.

To be honest, he was familiar with most of the expressions Raiha wore because...well, he saw them everyday in the mirror. They were alike, scarily so that Lynn wanted to deny it.

( _But his conscious whispered that he_ couldn't _deny the similarities, seeing the dark circles under her eyes everyday from little sleep, the random walks in the middle of the night because of nightmares, the constant drive to do better.)_

"Oi, they're announcing the next match," Lynn pointed out. "We should go back."

"Ah, yeah. Um, it was nice meeting you, Lex," Raiha bowed her head towards the ginger before following Sera back to their original position closer to Feiste. Lynn turned around and began to follow them, but heard a faint chuckle from the ginger haired magician.

"Same as ever, El…" he murmured, and when he noticed Lynn staring, his lips turned upwards a fraction. "Take care of your friends. It's... it's pretty rare to find people like them. Make sure she's... they're...happy."

"I...uh...yeah." Lynn nodded, honestly a bit confused. He decided to go along with it. "I will."

His lips curved upwards. "Good. I'll hold you to your word."

Lynn wasn't sure how to respond to that, choosing to bob his head awkwardly. Lex nodded back at him and disappeared in the crowd.

(He never saw the strange ginger haired magician again.)

* * *

"6 and 3," Edith read, and immediately people's heads turned at the high rankings.

"I'm taking bets," someone called, and Sera turned to see a proctor with olive green eyes smirking at the crowd. Edith and Marth sent the man scathing glares, but made no move to stop him as they focused on the two contestants entering the arena.

"Five drachmas on third," someone in the crowd muttered, handing some money to the man.

"You're on," Sera shot at them, slapping several coins into the man's hand. "Fifteen drachmas on sixth." Raiha would _win_ , he believed in her. He glanced over at Lynn, who simply stared at the man, contemplating something. The blonde's blue eyes were narrowed as he suddenly stepped forward, hands shoved casually into the pockets of his robes.

"And you, Erik? Who might you be betting on?" Lynn asked, casually slipping a bag of coins into Erik's hands. "Thirty drachmas on sixth." The crowd muttered among themselves at the large amount of money.

"You know, kid, I have a reputation to maintain," Erik drawled. "Every time I bet on someone, they lose." Behind him, Sera noticed that both Edith and Marth were nodding at the comment. Seeing that the blonde was undeterred in his stance, however, Erik sighed. "Sixty drachmas on sixth."

The crowd ruffled at such a high amount of money being placed on Raiha, and soon after emboldened individuals decided to bet money on the second place magician. Erik noticed Sera glaring at him and snorted. "What, kid? Do you think I jinxed your friend or something?"

"I…" Sera started.

"She doesn't need luck," Lynn cut in, eyes still unwavering as he searched Erik's expression. "That's what you mean, right?"

Erik's lips curled into a smirk. "I knew there was a reason why I liked you, kid."

"Lynn?" Sera spoke in a hesitant tone, and the blonde turned around and explained, "He was Raiha's interrogator for the mental trial. The sadist has no respect for human life."

"Oi, now I'm hurt," Erik crossed his arms. "I have a deep, profound respect for humans. They're quite interesting."

"Quit speaking like you aren't one," Lynn snorted.

"What if I wasn't? Maybe I'm a Fanalis, one of the near extinct superior races of humans?" Erik suggested, olive eyes glinting.

"Fanalis?" Sera tilted his head questioningly.

"You're definitely not," Lynn dismissed easily, and at Sera's surprised look the blonde quickly added, "I've read about them. They have red hair, and your hair doesn't seem dyed. Plus, if you had extraordinary strength you would've used it in the mental trial to test Raiha." Sera nodded at the information, storing it in his mind.

"Anyways, the match is starting," Sera reminded, and the three turned to watch.

* * *

" _Pathetic_. I'm going to be facing a _nine years old_ for my first match?" He sneered, glancing at the teal haired girl from head to toe.

"I'm almost ten," she added helpfully, but there was a sharp glint in her cerulean eyes that made him put up his guard. Offering her hand, she said professionally, "Raiha, number six. It's a pleasure. And you are?"

"Peré, the best Wind Magician around, and the person that is about to kick your ass," he smirked, accepting her hand. Without warning, his muscles tightened and he threw her easily into the air, shooting out several bullets of wind at her.

To the girl's credit, she evaded the wind bullets easily, her body easily contorting into several positions and narrowly dodging the lethal attacks. But he wasn't done yet.

Wind rose, and unlike the other Wind Magician from before (what was his name? Sita? Sesa?), it didn't just stop at a dust storm: slowly, the girl was surrounded by a tornado.

"Scared yet, kid?" He taunted. " _Iiiidiot,_ who tries shaking hands with their enemy?"

He shot her into the wall easily, her body hitting the concrete with a loud thud, the strength making the stone wall crumble upon itself. He smirked, waiting for the dust to abate.

"Creative," the girl's voice sounded, and he blinked in surprise when he saw several pillars of earth erected from the ground, shielding the teal haired magician from the falling debris. She looked almost contemplative. "You readjusted the spell _Asfal Riih_ and instead made the currents constantly change, thus forcing the tornado to move."

"Gravity magic...a Strength Mage, now are you?" He sneered, inwardly filing in that the girl at least knew some stuff. The girl gave a neutral shrug. He continued, his hand grasping onto his staff, "Well, if you're not on the ground then you're useless."

The tornado reappeared, sucking the teal haired girl into the air. He laughed, seeing her flailing body. "Sucks to be you." Glancing around the arena, he registered several other things that could help him. "Hope you're not afraid of water," he called. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see some of the magicians in the crowd muttering uncertainly.

The surface of the pond rumbled, ripples appearing before wind made all of the water rise out of the pond and shoot towards the tornado at dizzyingly high speeds.

Feiste, the proctor, was standing tensely at the sidelines. Peré briefly wondered why he wasn't interfering yet, for the man had done so with other matches when magicians got out of hand, but chalked it down to the judges wanting to see the soon-to-be-number-one magician show off his skills.

He grinned, sure that this final trick would earn him enough points to get first. "The Second Affinity of Wind Magicians is Fire Magic. Most magicians don't learn to use other Magic until they've mastered their own, but lucky you, I can."

He summoned several infernos and noticed a glowing light from in the tornado. He inwardly rose his eyebrows, but then again the girl _was_ sixth for a reason. Even if she wasn't that much of a challenge for him. "Oh, so you can dabble in a bit of Light Magic too. Unsurprising, since Strength Mages _do_ have a Second Affinity towards that. But I…"

The fireballs shot towards the tornado, which was now so obscure that one couldn't see through it at all. Spheres of water formed above his hands, hovering and waiting for him to shoot.

"Can also use a bit of Water Magic," he finished, and with that he took a step back to throw and-

-he was...being choked? By tendrils of water? His arms flailed out uselessly, and somehow his fingers managed to grope for and find his staff. Dispelling the tendrils of water, his eyes widened when he noticed the tornado had completely disappeared.

"Impressive, I must say," the teal haired girl mused, looking slightly battered but overall more _amused_ than anything. "I've never experienced such an interesting battle. You have quite a skill set for someone coming into the Academy. You probably have taken the entrance exams several times in the past. Most likely it was your theoretical score, if any, that didn't allow you to pass before. Your battle tactics were commendable, although I really suggest not assuming things about your opponent. Underestimating your opponents will only lead to your downfall."

"So you can do a few parlor tricks, so what?" Peré laughed. "I'm still better. Don't go getting cocky just because you landed a hit on me."

"I'm warning you, don't provoke me," the girl called, and although her tone was friendly, her eyes resembled chipped ice.

"Do you _honestly_ think you can take me? Sho~oo~rtie?"

The girl threw a look towards Peré's left, which he realized was towards Feiste. "I warned that son of a-"

"Language," Feiste reminded, looking unperturbed.

"-gun," the female magician finished before snapping her fingers. Her staff, which had been thrown far away from her in the tornado, came flying into her hands. Perhaps it was enchanted already? There were strange characters etched on the surface of the staff that Peré couldn't make out. Her face darkened as she turned towards Peré and snarled, "Sorry, but you've gotten on my nerves way too much for me to let you get off easily."

She muttered something under her breath before the earth began shaking.

Peré laughed. "Another earthquake? Do you really think that'd scare me? I've faced Strength mages with your Gravity Magic skillset before and came out on top. You're no exception." He blinked and realized that the girl had disappeared. He whirled around but saw nothing, his heart pounding loudly in his chest. Where did she go?

Above, left, right, behind, in front...below?

He glanced downwards but saw nothing, his paranoia only increasing. He shoved the emotion down his throat, narrowing his eyes, searching for his enemy

"They say that people rely too much on their eyes," a voice resounded from behind him, but when he whirled around there was nobody there.

"Sad to say that the statement's pretty much true," her voice commented to his right.

"Where are you? Are you using a voice amplifying technique? You coward, come out of hiding," he sneered, hoping that he'd rile her up enough to reveal herself. Instead, she chuckled at the notion, the noise coming from above him. He glanced upwards, but once again there was nothing.

"What are you talking about? I'm not hiding, you just can't see right."

"Shut _up_ , where are you?" He growled.

"Oh, alright. I'll shut up. But then you won't be able to find me." Amusement was clearly laced in her voice as she fell silent. Peré closed his eyes, listening for footsteps, but there _were_ none. Shifts in the air, then…

 _There._

He shot several wind bullets up into the air and felt the air whoosh past him, as if she was dodging. He smirked. Peré was going to win this, he could already feel the exhilarating anticipation of a victory coursing through his veins. "Tough luck, sweetheart, but I'm going to win," he called as he closed his eyes, willing the Rukh to comply with his wishes.

Water began to condense and form a dome over the arena. He snapped his fingers, and the water turned into sharp blades of ice. "Well? Do you give?" He called.

There was no response, so he glanced over briefly to see that Feiste held an apathetic expression as he summoned a Borg before things could get messy.

With one final push at the Rukh, the blades of ice hurled towards the spot where he could sense the girl standing. To his surprise, he saw her materialize (he _still_ didn't understand how she did that, to his annoyance) and simply smirk as the icicles came towards her.

Was this another trick?

No, apparently it wasn't. The icicles stopped one centimeter before her face, still unblinking. Her lips twitched, and suddenly she broke into laughter. "You...ah, gosh, I can't help it...this is just so _hilarious_."

"Stop _laughing_ ," he snarled, mind running to figure out why the icicles had stopped.

Her expression froze mid-laugh as she stared at him, eyes narrowing and mouth turning downwards into a scowl. Without warning, the icicles had snapped around, additional blades of ice forming before they all shot at him. Summoning a Borg just in time, Peré winced as he tried to maintain his Borg against the immense force of the icicles hitting it. The icicles melted, leaving water floating in mid air, and before he could react the water encircled his Borg and drove him upwards, him and his Borg trapped inside a circular orb of water.

"I like to call this the Water Prison technique, as it was inspired by...ah, something." The girl's twitching lips told him that it must have been an inside joke. "Right now, you have enough air in your Borg to live. But will your oxygen supply run out first? Or will your Borg? Because I promise you that I can maintain this prison for as long as I need to."

"Impossible, maintaining a spell that's not even your main affinity for that long is impossible," he barked, attempting to dispel the prison but failing at doing so.

He could barely make out the amusement that flashed through her features through the distortion of the water prison. "Oh my gosh, this guy is hilarious," she gushed, and for a moment Peré didn't see a nine year old girl anymore: he saw a jaded, talented magician who was ready to kill him at a moment's notice. "You don't get it yet, do you? A bit slow…"

He was sweating, arms trembling from maintaining his Borg while also under the additional pressure of the water prison, which seemed to be trying to constrict him.

" _Iiiiidiot_ , who tries attacking a Water Magician with _water_?" She asked mockingly, imitating his earlier jibe at her. Her grip on her staff tightened and the Water Prison shrunk, squishing Peré's Borg and forcing it to constrict. He gritted his teeth, knuckles white from holding onto his staff as he tried to keep the Borg from shrinking further.

"Judging by the way that your pupils are dilated and the extremity of the tremors your body is making, you'll only be able to maintain the Borg for about two more minutes," his opponent noted. "If I increase the pressure of the Water Prison, I'd say you'd last forty five seconds. The pressure right now is enough to kill you if your Borg breaks. Do you give?"

"Who...who are you?"

She smiled, and although there was nothing in her words that indicated anything of the sort, Peré saw a predator: a huntress about to capture her prey. "Why, I already introduced myself in the beginning of the match, don't you remember?" At the lack of response, she frowned. The Water Prison suddenly disappeared, and Peré collapsed in a heap on the ground. Cheerfully strolling over to his twitching body, she pointed her staff directly at his head. "You can call me Raiha. Now, do you give?"

"The match is over," Feiste's voice interrupted. "Raiha, remove your staff. I've called Shinya over to heal."

"Roger that, sir," she saluted. The thump of the butt of her staff hitting the ground resounded through the entire stadium.

The arena was deathly quiet for a moment. Then people were cheering, celebrating or mourning the loss of their money from betting, and sending both admiring and calculative glances at Raiha.

"Also...Raiha?" Feiste asked, and when she turned to face him the proctor quietly inquired, "Where did you learn all of this?"

Her smile didn't even flicker for a moment. "I stayed with number 14, Sera, for awhile. We experimented with a lot of magic, and since his grandmother owned a bookshop that, along with Musta'sim's grand library, assisted me as well."

"...hn."

* * *

"I told you she would win," Yamuraiha heard Sera's voice practically oozing with pride.

"Never doubted it, kid," Erik snorted.

"That match was...alright," Lynn admitted, his arms crossed over his chest as he observed Shinya and two other Healers escort Peré out of the stadium.

"Aw, and I thought you didn't care, Erik," Yamuraiha cooed, casually approaching and segueing into the conversation. "And you all are so cute."

"Nice work, kiddo, you just won me 120 drachmas," Erik commented lazily, sending her a thumbs up. Standing up lethargically, the man yawned and said, "I'll be off to the judges' booth now. You kids will get in no sweat. Oh, and Raiha?"

"Mm?"

He offered his hand, olive green eyes slitted. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Yamuraiha smiled cordially, accepting the handshake. The two nodded at each other before the older man swaggered off. She turned to Lynn and Sera, casually fingering the slip of paper the man had given her and slipping it into her robe. She addressed Lynn, "You're going to be up, soon, huh? After all, you haven't fought yet."

"Yeah, probably," Lynn shrugged casually, not looking that concerned.

"Confident, much?" Yamuraiha snorted.

"No, Lynn's very adept at magical combat," Sera added his own two cents into the conversation, and both Yamuraiha and Lynn turned towards the white haired boy in surprise.

"How do you know that?" They asked in synchronization. Immediately they scowled at each other when they realized that they had spoken in sync.

"It's not like I can just _sleep through_ every single time when you wake up in the middle of the night and go off training," Sera deadpanned, staring at Lynn. "Honestly, your nightmares wake me up every night." He blinked and immediately shut his mouth. "Sorry, shouldn't have said that."

"Nightmares?" Yamuraiha rounded about and stared at Lynn for a response.

The blonde shrugged, mumbling, "Just a few now and then. Nothing serious."

Yamuraiha was about to reply to the blonde haired magician when she heard Marth call out, "The next match will be between 2 and 5."

She blinked.

Then blinked again.

And slowly both Sera and Yamuraiha craned their heads to look at Lynn.

"Well, nice knowing you, Lynn," Sera said kindly.

"We'll miss you. Actually, scratch that. Sera will miss you. Rest in peace," Yamuraiha grinned at the blonde.

"...oi, oi. What happened to having confidence in my abilities?" Lynn grumbled as he headed off to the field. Yamuraiha's smile wavered for a moment as he left.

When the blonde was out of sight, she mumbled to Sera, "Shame I have to miss the idiot's match: tell me about it later. Wake me up when my next match is announced. Look for the healer Shinya, brown hair. Red eyes. Can't miss her."

"Yeah." Sera and Yamuraiha had spent enough time testing their limits and the extent of their magic together for the white haired boy to know that her physical body couldn't handle using _that_ many spells yet. She had been bluffing with Peré: she probably could've only held the Water Prison for another thirty seconds before her body gave out on her. Luckily, the match had ended before then. She wobbled uncertainly on her feet for a moment before promptly passing out.

She felt Sera's arms steady her body before she hit the ground and then everything went dark.

* * *

 **A/N: Welp. That was long. Lots of dialogue and short sentences LOLOLOL but that's just how I roll when it comes to action. Romantic here, my action scenes are pretty badass. In my head. Not so much when writing. LOL.**

 **I casually shall address some points you guys might be interested in. Please note the majority of this chapter was BS I made up myself because honestly the canon Magnoshutatt tests were too pathetically easy to call tests. Plus, well...Magnoshutatt's in war with Musta'sim rn, so wartime procedures throw everything off. Deal with it.**

 **No, Raiha is not invincible. Yes, she will get more badass scenes. Yes, she has several character flaws that I hope are becoming apparent as I continue writing. Yes, I know exactly what a Mary Sue is, and honestly if you'd like to debate with me about that go ahead and try me.**

1) There shall be lots of Alex flashbacks (uh...perspectives?) as we watch Alex unravel El's death, backstory, etc. It's my way of hinting OC backstories. LOL. Can't promise more Clara, but Alex'll be there.

1.5) Speaking of which, you noticed Lex. Go ahead and make your guesses/theories/etc.

2) My God all of you are jumping off and on ships. I see a few loyal shippers and the rest of you are trying to jump ship but are being swallowed by the ocean of romance instead. Note that while ship teases will be apparent, there probably will be no established relationship for the majority (if not, all) of the story. Kudos to _TheBlueEspeon_ for sticking with a ship (although I can't do that myself).

3) High fives to the MM fans out there, and my sympathy to those who the game has glitched on.

4) _Kreuz13_ had several interesting theories about Raiha, or as we know now to be Elliot's, past. Close, but not close? Idk that WAS pretty close?

5) Yeah, so Yamuraiha still hasn't shown up in Sinbad no Bouken so I'm still in the dark. Timeskips are cool and all, and there'll be a one year timeskip eventually sometime during Yamuraiha's stay in Magnoshutatt.

6) I do not know which canon characters will be introduced yet. If things go to plan, all of Sinbad's group will be. Raiha should be eventually meeting a large portion of the Kou Empire if things go my way. The Reim Empire is a stop I want to take as well eventually in the story.

7) Thank you to those who pointed out the errors in the story. This author is a lazy ass but she'll probably fix them sometime. ^^;;

8) Thank you to all of your kind words about the story/my writing/etc. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please don't hesitate to PM me and talk to me about it, because it's actually very fun to talk about Raiha and co. with others.

9) Special thanks to _Heitor_ because omfg you literally wrote an essay of a review that had the most thought provoking comments ever. Like it's not even a review anymore, more like an essay. And then you, you wonderful person, decided to write even more to me via PM. Thank you.

 **But yeah, so I honestly have no idea what to say because I honestly started this story on a whim and suddenly it's my most popular one? Like what? And I'm starting to get people who are like "yo so I read your other stories too" and I just feel really honored.**

 **Also, huge thank you to some of the reviewers because I secretly stalked your profiles and looked at all the favorite fanfiction for new OC stories. If you can recommend any good ones, I'm open for suggestions. (Badass Sakura stories from Naruto are my guilty pleasure, although I've read a lot, fyi HAHAHA.)**

 **What else...AH YEAH.**

 **For Christmas, I've decided against the MM thing because I'm working on a Christmas collab for my Akatsuki no Yona fanfic at the moment.**

 **.**

 **.**

 _ **Thus, for Christmas, I've decided on a Truth or Dare thing with the characters? Ask questions to Raiha, Lynn, Nick, Sera, any of the canon characters, etc. Basically it's a Q &A session in disguise where you get to tease the characters about your ships because we all know that's how it's gonna go. You can submit as many Truths or Dares as you wish, although try not to overwhelm poor Raiha with 10 questions about why she doesn't like Sharrkan yet. LOL.**_

 _ **It'll end up something like:**_

"Who did you choose at the end of the 100 review special/Cinderella omake? - _theauthor20_ "

Yamuraiha stared at the piece of paper for a long moment before glancing up at Ja'far. The white haired boy shrugged and pointed at Sinbad, who nodded grimly. She had to answer. She closed her teal eyes, trying to regain her composure as she felt her cheeks heating up.

"I..."

Everyone leaned in closer.

"I...I chose..."

They were on the edge of their seat.

"...Mogamett. And rode off happily in the sunset with him."

 **Yep. OK. That's all. Thanks guys. ;D But seriously, I'd love to talk and make friends with all of you~ PM me with any of your thoughts~ Your ships~ Requests~ Truths/Dares~ Thoughts about all of the story ideas I have on my profile (which include OC!Ladybug from Miraculous Ladybug, OC!Kikyo from Inuyasha, etc.) or story ideas you might want me to consider?**

 **Idk I just want more friends is that too much to ask LOLOLOL? Anyways, thanks for reviewing. Thank you for favorite-ing. Thank you for following. All of you guys, cheesy as it sounds, really do make my day when I see that you like this story. ;) Hope this update made yours.**


	14. New Years Special

**Hello everyone! I couldn't get this finished for Christmas but hopefully this is out for New Years. To 2017~! Let's make a lot of good memories this year, OK~? And let's all work hard to making 2017 a great year for everyone. ^^**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: This chapter has SEVERAL parts that have been requested by various people. Changes will be noted with Author's Notes.**

 **You all must be tired of my thank yous, so I will just send you lots of internet hugs and love through this comment. xoxoxoxoxo**

 **Edit: Part three has been edited out AND WILL BE PUBLISHED SOMETIME NEXT WEEK OR THE WEEK AFTER I PROMISE. IT'S LONGER THAN ALL OF THESE.**

* * *

 _._

 _._

 _ **PART 1: THE OCS ARE ASKED QUESTIONS, REACT, ETC.**_

 _._

 _._

* * *

 _In which everyone is a dork._

* * *

Yamuraiha coughed and glanced to her left and right. "I don't suppose there's any way that we can stop this, can we?"

"What the authoress wants, the authoress gets," Sera shook his head mournfully. "And unfortunately what she wants right now is not what _we_ want, Raiha."

"All I wanted was to be normal," Yamuraiha moaned, covering her face with her hands as she curled in a ball in a corner. "But no, the Plot has something against me and I always end up in the middle of things. Just wait until I meet more of the canon characters: they're already trouble magnets on their own, but knowing my luck, if we meet..."

Everyone shivered. At that very moment, a piece of paper fluttered to the ground, and Lynn (who had been silently sulking) easily caught it between two of his fingers. His blue eyes scanned over the paper for a moment before his shoulders slacked. Sighing, Lynn read in a monotonous voice, "Oi, moron. I don't really understand what this means, but I suppose you do, since it's addressed to you."

"What, your puny brain can't handle it?"

"No," Lynn deadpanned. "Here, I'll read it. _'Raiha, if you could choose a power or attack from any other anime and turn it into a spell (disregarding the difficulty), what would you choose?'_ "

Alyasa turned to Sera, assuming it was a nerd thing. "What's an anime?" The white haired boy simply shrugged in response. Yamuraiha broke into a fit of suspicious coughs at the question. When she regained her composure, the teal haired girl hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

"Hard one. To be honest I already like ripping off series ideas because hello, some of them are brilliant, okay? But...eh...I always wanted to figure out how to do something like the Tsukiyomi from Naruto. It sounds really weebish, I know, but I like to think about the thought. Most magic in Magi is physical, the exception being that Sound Magic can manipulate thoughts to some extent, as we've seen with Sinbad and...er...one of his Djinns. But like...the Tsukiyomi can manipulate time, not only that but it also is able to actually inflict mental damage on people. Yeah."

"...you sound like a psychopath," Nicholas deadpanned from his spot in the corner reading a book.

"Sociopath, Nick. There's a difference," she rebuked cheerily, earning a twitch of an eyebrow from the stoic prince. At that moment, another piece of paper appeared right in front of the teal haired girl. Grabbing it, Yamuraiha said, "This is addressed to you, Sera. _'Between having access to a library that had all the knowledge of magic in the world or having eternal peace between your friends, which would you choose?'_ "

"Eternal peace between these two bickering idiots," Sera deadpanned. "And...well, as much as magic fascinates me, I don't think I'm the kind of person who needs all that magic and power. That's more Lynn or Raiha style."

"Don't compare me to him/her!" The blonde and tealette shot up at the same time, jabbing a finger in each other's direction.

"But I'm sure that there'd be something in the library to help you with those two?" Nicholas suggested over a ranting Lynn and Yamuraiha.

"...no, there is not one spell in the entire world that can stop these two from arguing," Sera said flatly.

At that moment, a piece of paper fluttered in the hands of a scowling Alyasa, and the green haired girl immediately opened it. Everyone fell silent as they waited for her to read it aloud, but once the girl had finished reading it to herself she simply sniffed. "What a stupid question."

"What is it?" Yamuraiha asked curiously.

" _'Alyasa, would you rather always look beautiful (no matter what happens) or go on a date with Lynn?_ '" Alyasa read, a scowl clearly planted on her features. "That's so pointless."

"Yeah, it's real pointless," Lynn agreed, "Not like I'd ever date someone like you. I'd rather date Raiha."

"I'm flattered," the tealette deadpanned as Alyasa let out some irritated shriek.

"But if I'm super beautiful, then Lynn will definitely go out with me! It's a win-win situation. Not like I'm not beautiful already, though," the girl added quickly.

"Yeah, not like I care about other things rather than a girl's looks, you know," Lynn mumbled sarcastically under his breath. Nicholas, who seemed to have overheard the comment, snickered and continued to read his book. Yamuraiha got the feeling that the two would actually get along pretty well if they talked more.

The green haired Prince blinked and looked up from his book, holding up a small slip of paper. "I believe I have been granted the privilege of reading the next paper." Everyone nodded in encouragement. Nicholas's eyebrows creased. "Hm. How interesting. Sera, this is addressed to you. _'If you could discover a spell that allows you to reset your life (and still remember your past life), but you switch genders...would you do it? Keep in mind you CAN undo the spell'_."

Sera blinked at the question in slight surprise. "I..."

"I'd do it," Lynn remarked offhandedly.

"Yeah, so maybe you finally can experience the life of a guy," Yamuraiha couldn't help but jibe.

"Oi, oi."

"Probably not," Sera interfered before the two could get in another spiel. A small smile spread over his face as he continued, "I like life being a mystery. Sure, the possibilities are amazing to think of, but I want to live life with the decisions I made. My current life is what I'm focusing on, and even though I will definitely have regrets, that's...well...life, right?"

...

"That was deep," Nicholas commented, everyone else simply nodding in agreement. "And I believe that piece of paper stuck in your hair, Raiha, is our next task."

Yamuraiha blinked and tried to grab blindly for the piece of paper, but to no avail. The green haired Prince sighed, looking slightly irritated for having to get up, but stood up and made his way to the tealette. "Hold still," he instructed, grabbing the piece of paper and handing it to her. (Both of them attempted to ignore their close proximity and quickly backed away after the paper was given.)

"Thanks," Yamuraiha coughed awkwardly. Nicholas gave a neutral shrug before sitting down in the corner once again and reading his book. Her teal eyes scanned over the paper for a moment before she deadpanned, "Pass."

Alyasa snorted and grabbed the paper. "For Heaven's sake just let me read it. _'Raiha, from what year to what year have you lived?'_. Isn't this just a roundabout way of asking your age?"

"No comment," Yamuraiha deadpanned once again. "That'll forever remain a mystery. Both last time and this time. Although you know my age in this timeline. Sort of. Say, how do dates work in the Magi world anyways?"

Sera sent her a confused look. "Who are you asking?"

"Oh, nobody in particular," Yamuraiha commented vaguely, dismissing the comment.

"Raiha, Sera, Alyasa, Lynn...and apparently me, as well, because the authoress decrees it. _'What are your dreams for the future?'_ " Nicholas read off a paper slip.

"I want to help my friends and learn more about Wind Magic." Sera beamed. "Oh, and I want to help Grandma with her bookshop again someday. I also pray that someday Lynn and Raiha can stay together for two minutes without arguing. Oh, maybe I should try inventing magical earplugs that filter out their arguing..."

"Are we really that annoying?" Yamuraiha asked.

"Yes," Sera replied immediately. "You guys give me headaches." (Alyasa and Nicholas sweatdropped at this, but the tealette and blonde in question simply shrugged with a 'what can you do' look on both of their faces.)

"Hopes for the future...I'd like to become a fair and wise King someday," Nicholas declared. "And I want for my sister to be happy."

Yamuraiha couldn't help but snicker. "That was such a stereotypical, perfect Prince answer."

"Shut up, idiot."

"Dreams...eh? I want to become a talented magician, I suppose," Lynn hummed noncommittally. "And I want to be able to repay the people who have shown me kindness in the past."

Everyone waited for him to elaborate, but after a few beats of silence Yamuraiha took that as her cue. "Well, since princess here doesn't want to elaborate," she drawled, ignoring the scowl sent her way, "I'll finish this question. I just want to live out my life, see where things take me...help out my friends and shit. Try not to be used as a political puppet, avoid annoying people, make basically everyone in here (minus Sera) pissed off on a daily basis, etc. It's all trivial things, really. If you want me to go on a heroic monologue about saving the world and shit...eh. Sorry, not planning on making myself a martyr anytime soon. I hope. Then again Fate likes to screw with me, so..."

Everyone stared at her blankly. "I don't even want to know," Nicholas rolled his eyes, being the first one to recover. Alyasa, Lynn, and Sera nodded sagely in agreement.

"Ah, another paper," Lynn drawled, snatching it out of the air before it got a chance to fall down. His expression morphed into a slightly confused one. " _'As the next three are quite similar, the authoress has decided to show them all in one.'_ "

"What," Nicholas deadpanned.

Yamuraiha blinked in surprise before wobbling uncertainly on her feet. "Uh...I don't think...I'm feeling that well..." Before the girl could say anything else, however, there was a flash of light. In place of the petite, teal haired magician who barely stood to Nicholas's shoulders was somebody else.

* * *

No, not somebody else, Sera quickly realized. It was Raiha. But it wasn't? He glanced over to the side to see that everyone else was piecing things together quite quickly as well.

Teal hair, teal eyes, pale skin...check. But this Raiha wasn't a girl anymore, she was a full grown _woman_. It wasn't just the addition of curves, the wardrobe change, or her height difference that threw everyone off the most. (Although admittedly the flashy clothing and sudden growth of her chest had Sera hastily focusing on the woman's face before he could be deemed a pervert for staring.) It was the aura she gave off: confident, calculating, and unbending. The woman's teal eyes briefly scanned over them all before the tense atmosphere that had been created dissipated.

"Oh, shit, I remember you all telling me about this later," Raiha (no, not their Raiha...but at the same time she was their Raiha) moaned. "Of course it just has to be when that stupid idiot decided to challenge me. He's going to count this as a win. How will this look on my record?"

"...uh, hello?" Sera offered, bringing the woman's attention back to them.

A soft, almost bittersweet smile spread over her face as she stared at them. "Damn. You're all so cute and tiny."

This sent both Nicholas and Lynn into loud coughing fits, although Sera held his ground admirably and simply smiled awkwardly in thanks. Alyasa was still staring at the woman as if she wasn't real (which, of course, was a difficult concept for Sera to grasp right now).

"I never thought I'd hear those words from you of all people," Lynn chortled. "So rubbing this in Raiha's face later."

"Now, now, dumbass. Be nice to my past self," older Raiha scolded. "I clearly remember tackling and strangling you when you brought it up, and you ended up being brought to Shinya to be healed again."

Lynn shuddered.

Sera and Alyasa exchanged glances before nodding at each other. Alyasa experimentally shot a fireball at the woman. Without even looking in the fireball's direction an orb of water materialized and shot towards the fireball, neutralizing it. Older Raiha sent a raised eyebrow at Alyasa, but seeing that the teenaged girl was not going to respond, shrugged and turned to Lynn.

"So, have I impressed you?" older Raiha snickered.

"No," Lynn said quickly. (Almost _too_ quickly, Sera noted with an amused smile playing on his face.)

"You're lyiiiing," older Raiha sang.

"S-shut up."

"So cute." She turned to Sera, her amused grin softening into a more fond one. There was a flicker of emotion in her eyes that Sera couldn't identify as she asked hesitantly, "How...how have you been, Sera?"

"If you can tell me how to get your past self and Lynn to stop fighting, that'd be appreciated," Sera replied. Nicholas couldn't help but let out a snicker as Lynn shot a glare at both of them.

"...not possible, I'm afraid," older Raiha said thoughtfully. "I mean, I still don't get along with that idiot even now. Well...I guess we've come to a...somewhat truce, but we still argue and everything. Whenever I see him, at least."

Finally, turning to Nicholas, the tealette locked gazes with him. "I gave you a warning," she said softly. "Please heed it. I believe my time here is running out...but please, pay attention to everything. And please look after everyone back there, alright?"

"I'll...do my best," Nicholas promised, this statement eliciting a serene smile from the woman. She opened her mouth, about to say one last thing, before suddenly a flash of light filled the room. When the blinding light had faded, in place of the older woman was their Raiha, looking slightly dazed and confused.

"What...?"

"Your future self just came and talked with us. And called us cute," Lynn explained, smirking. "Something you want to tell us, Raiha?"

"Why, you!" Raiha shot up, her fist at the ready when Sera hastily stepped between the two.

"Now, now, don't injure Lynn. We wouldn't want that, now would we?" Sera laughed uncertainly. Raiha looked ready to retort something but ultimately decided against it, simply sighing.

"Ah, a paper," Nicholas drawled, catching all of their attention as he unfolded said slip of parchment.

* * *

"'You come from a different country. Your mission is to give information to your King about Magnoshutatt, and the people that you have befriended in your home country are being held hostage. Now, you have friends in Magnoshutatt that could die if your King attacked it. What are your thoughts and plan of action?'" Nicholas read. HIs eyes slid over towards Yamuraiha as they locked gazes. "How... _specific_."

"That's an interesting situation," Sera commented, frowning. "I actually am not sure what I'd do. I...I wouldn't want for any of my friends to die. I would probably...feed the King information to ensure my homeland friends' survival, but I would also warn Magnoshutatt so that they could be prepared for a possible invasion."

Lynn shook his head, scowl planted firmly on his face as he said quietly, "That's too naive. Telling Magnoshutatt that you're a spy is basically suicidal. And I doubt that the supposed King would only send you as a spy, right? So probably if you tried to warn Magnoshutatt, you'd be killed (by either Magnoshutatt or by your home country)."

"What would you do then, Lynn?" Sera asked curiously.

"...I don't know. It depends on the individual's priorities. Do you value your life the most? The lives of your friends back home? Or the lives of your new friends?" Lynn asked rhetorically, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling in thought.

"You still haven't answered Sera's question," Nicholas observed.

The blonde shrugged. "Honestly, it depends on which group of friends is more important to me. I would probably continue helping the King because not helping him would guarantee the deaths of my hypothetical friends back home, while there's only a hypothetical possibility of my friends in Magnoshutatt being killed. Besides, if they live in Magnoshutatt, they should be able to fight to some extent, right?"

"Actually, I think it'd be better for you to stop helping the King," Alyasa interjected, surprising some of them considering she was actually (somewhat) disagreeing with Lynn. "Sure, your friends back home are guaranteed death. But helping him would...like, not only doom your friends in Magnoshutatt but also all the other people here. The King wouldn't kill off all of his subjects, just those who are close to you. So in numbers, there would be less casualties if you stuck by Magnoshutatt's side."

"Saying that is quite easy," Nicholas cut in. "But do you really think you would be able to just...turn your back on all of your friends who you had grown up with? I think that we, as humans, are naturally greedy people who would try to save everyone. I'm not saying that's the best choice, but I think that's the choice that many of us would make."

"Raiha, what do you think?" Sera asked the tealette, who had been strangely quiet.

"Dunno," Yamuraiha shrugged. "But I do agree with Nick. We're naturally stupid and have an inclination to doing heroic stuff. Unfortunately, those with hero complexes usually fail epically unless they have plot armor. And considering I'm not very plot worthy, I think that it'd be best if I did something logical. Logically wise, I agree with Lynn. Those in Magnoshutatt should be able to defend themseles, and I should have faith in them. Friends back in other countries, however, are less likely to have any battle experience and thus are more likely to die unless I help them."

"I feel like there's some message we're missing," Alyasa muttered. Lynn and Sera nodded, while Nicholas just continued staring at Yamuraiha.

"Interesting points," he said carefully.

"Thank you," she returned evenly.

"...yeah, we're definitely missing something."

* * *

.

.

.

 _ **PART 2: TANGLED 'OMAKE' ~ THIS MAY GET LONG (edit: It did. It got very long.)**_

 **NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Please go drink some water, maybe start writing a review about Part 1 because I promise you, you'll forget everything you wanted to say by the end of this chapter.**

 **No, seriously, take a break really quick. STOP. PAUSE. REST. MAYBE REVIEW. THIS IS A** _ **LONG**_ **ONE, FOLKS.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

* * *

 _In which Sinbad (and co.) fail at being wingmen, Yamuraiha is done with Lynn's OP powers, and Lynn (despite trying to go against Fate) somehow manages to get entangled with Plot._

* * *

"Ah...oh... _shit_!" Yamuraiha Mogamett, better just known as 'Raiha', cursed and desperately clung onto the tree branch as she eyed the horse approaching her warily. "Now, now...Ugo, was it? Just...back away slowly, please. Yes, I know you want to arrest me, and this is _not_ my consent for you to do so, but it would be advantageous to us both if you step off of the branch."

Ugo (curse that stubborn horse) ignored her and stepped forward on the branch.

Crack.

"Oh, _come on_!" Yamuraiha screeched as the branch broke, both woman and horse falling down the cliff. "You just had to move forward, huh? You couldn't have just-" Any other protests that she may have made fell short as her body fell into a canopy of trees, slamming hard against several branches as she continued tumbling downwards.

Finally, with a loud splash, she fell into freezing cold water. The impact was hard, although not enough to make her fall unconscious. Her hands clawed upwards as she kicked, propelling herself upwards. When she reached the surface, she sputtered and gasped desperately for air, pushing away the teal hair that had fallen before her face.

"Stupid horse," she cursed, glancing around her and seeing the animal struggling in the water. Luckily for him, the water didn't seem that deep, and both of them made their way to the shore, not even bothering to glance at the other.

She sighed, simply flopping onto the ground as she tried to regain her breath. "Never...again," she breathed, groaning and rolling over on her side. "Arrest me for all you want, I don't care anymore."

The horse shot her a glare but simply laid on the ground also, too tired to do anything.

Yamuraiha blinked as she noticed where they were. They had fallen into some kind of...glade of a sorts. Tall, towering willow trees were all around them, barely any sunlight penetrating through the thick canopy. But that wasn't what had caught her attention. In the center of the glade was a tall, spiraling tower, surrounded by a lake that almost acted like a...moat, of a sorts.

Despite the protest of her groaning joints, she pushed herself upwards with her right arm and stood up, walking over towards the tower curiously. There was a small bridge that allowed for her to pass through the moat, and Yamuraiha immediately noted it. So there had been humans in this glade before.

This seemed like such a cool hideout, why hadn't she ever discovered it before? Yamuraiha glanced up at the tower. It seemed quiet, almost too quiet. Maybe whatever humans that may have resided there left long ago.

 _Maybe_ , her thief side said thoughtfully, _there were things of value to salvage in there_.

...well, the kleptomaniac in here couldn't resist the temptation. She circled around the tower, noting that there were no entrances except for the tall window towards the top of the tower. Yamuraiha sighed, but temptation won and she reached for the coil of rope tied around her waist.

With expertise that only came from shimmying up several tall, high class places, Yamuraiha lassoed the rope around the small handle of the tower's window. Testing the rope, she found it sturdy enough and resolved to try climbing it. (After all, the worse that could happen would be that she'd plummet all the way down to the bottom of the glade again. And maybe die. But the adventurer in her urged her to try it.)

Yamuraiha silently admitted to herself, stepping on the windowsill of the window while glancing downwards and sending a smirk and peace sign to Ugo below, that she was a bit proud of her climbing abilities now. She pushed against the window and was surprised to see it open easily.

Well, that made things easier. She had lost her bobby pin in the fall.

"Hello?" She called cautiously, but after waiting a few moments and hearing nothing, Yamuraiha entered the room. It was beautiful, with all kinds of paintings on the walls, but Yamuraiha had no time to dawdle. Spotting a glint of metal out of the corner of her eye, she approached the room's dresser.

She was about to open the dresser when she felt something hit the back of her neck, and with that, she fell unconscious.

.

.

.

"Alright, who are you and how did you get in here?" A voice asked her.

Yamuraiha groaned, eyes opening. She blinked as she saw a golden haired girl wielding a frying pan of all things, glaring at her angrily. Oh, wait. Yamuraiha scanned the figure again and realized that no, this person was a blonde haired boy. With extremely long hair that extended far past where she could see.

"Well, answer me," the boy demanded, his grip on the frying pan tightening. Yamuraiha noticed this and immediately attempted to hold up her arms innocently. Unfortunately, she didn't realized that she was tied to a chair, and this action caused her to fall over and hit the ground. The impact made her groan in pain again.

"Woahhhh, there, Princess," she drawled. "Put that frying pan down. Let's talk things out civilly here, now shall we?"

"I'm a boy," the boy growled, and Yamuraiha shrugged, feeling an amused smirk tugging at her face.

"Well, your hair certainly is longer than most boys I've me-"

With a sharp whack, she was out cold again.

.

.

.

"Alright, let's try this again. Who are you and how did you get here?"

"Violent much, Princess?" she drawled.

The boy's eyebrows twitched.

 _Whack_.

.

.

.

"Now, if you don't answer me-"

"I get it, I get it," Yamuraiha groaned, rolling her eyes. "You'll start acting like a PMSing girl once again and knock me out. We've been through this enough times. Now put that pan down."

Twitching at the girl's sarcastic comment, the blonde haired boy reluctantly set the pan down. "Well?"

"The name's Raiha, professional thief, shameless playgirl, hottest single on the market," Yamuraiha said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "I'm sure that you're stunned speechless by my beauty and all, but I would like to know _your_ name."

"You haven't told me how you got into here."

"Information for information, Princess. Now, you don't want me calling you that forever, right?"

The boy's eyebrow twitched again. "You do realize you're in no position to bargain, right?"

Damn. He called her out. "...well, I was hoping that my dashing good looks would win me a few brownie points, but you're pretty hard to please," Yamuraiha shrugged.

"...Lynn. My name's Lynn," the boy gave grudgingly, seeing that the girl was not about to give any more information.

"And I climbed," Yamuraiha chirped.

"...what?"

"You asked how I got in here. I climbed up the tower."

"...you do realize how tall this tower is, right?"

"Yep."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"O-oi, put that frying pan down...Lynn... _oi, Lynn_...!"

.

.

.

Yamuraiha blinked, dazedly glancing around the room. Looking downwards, she noticed that her hands were untied and that she was laying on a bed. What was going on? "Lynn?" she called warily, noting that some of his hair ( _honestly, why was his hair so long? He could literally donate all of it and that would benefit around two hundred bald people-_ ) was still in the room. So he was still in the tower.

The blonde re-entered the room, carrying a tray. "Here," he said grumpily, tossing her a spoon which she only caught because of her fast reflexes that were honed from her thievery. Setting the tray down in front of her, he said shortly, "I made soup."

A grin spread over her face. This guy reminded her a lot of one of her fellow thieves, Sharrkan. Both of them were super prickly people who couldn't just apologize the normal way. It was funny, but even though she had only met him today, Lynn seemed almost...familiar. "Awwww, Lynn...is this your way of telling me that you're sorry?"

She noted the way his back stiffened for a moment. Bingo. "Of course not," the blonde scoffed. "It's just customary for a host to treat their guests well."

"Okaaaaaay."

"...stop staring at me like that. Now hurry up and eat, because after you're done I have a proposal for you."

"W-what? Marriage already, Lynn? I mean, I know that I'm stunning and all, but don't you think we're moving a bit too fast?" Yamuraiha feigned embarrassment.

"...do you want me to get out my frying pan again?"

"Uh...you're a very kind person?" She offered meekly.

"I thought so."

.

.

"So...you're telling me that you've been in this cramped tower since you were a kid? And you haven't stepped out of here _once_?" Yamuraiha repeated incredulously. At his nod, she shook her head sadly and patted his head. "Poor, poor child."

Lynn twitched. "So, will you help me go see those...lanterns?"

"Sure, why not? As long as you give me back the crown you stole from me."

"...you stole it from the palace, didn't you?"

"Finder's keepers."

"...mmhm." Lynn looked unconvinced.

"Alright, let's go now!" Yamuraiha decided. The blonde blinked, looking stupefied.

"Now?"

"Yeah, time's awasting~! The lost Prince's birthday is coming up in three days, so we have to get to the Kingdom before then," Yamuraiha explained patiently, as if to a child. Her tone of voice made the blonde twitch again (she got the feeling that was going to become a habit whenever the two of them would be together). "Get up, pack a few things, and we can head down the tower. Also, you should get a haircut."

Lynn looked visibly horrified. " _No_ ," he protested vehemently. "My mother will be back in a week and she treasures my hair more than anything."

"Oh, so you're a momma's boy."

"...you know what, just _shaddup_. Go sit at the windowsill while I pack."

.

.

"See? Swinging down the tower isn't that hard," Yamuraiha said cheerfully as her companion simply scowled before gazing around the glade. "What, aren't you going to say something dramatic like 'omigosh this is the best day of my life' and run around in circles?"

"I'm not going to act that stupid. Especially around you," Lynn deadpanned. Yamuraiha snickered. She noticed that Ugo was glaring at the both of them and hummed thoughtfully for a moment.

"Here boy," she invited, grinning. "Riding a horse would be convenient."

Ugo kicked her.

.

.

"Alright, so we're just going to enter this suspicious looking inn just for the kicks of it?" Lynn asked incredulously. Yamuraiha turned around and told Ugo to stay outside (which the horse didn't look too happy about) before turning back towards Lynn.

"Yeah, what's the worst that could happen?" Yamuraiha shrugged, opening the door and stepping forward only to bump into someone.

The man most have been over six feet, with his aqua blue hair and intimidating looking red coral trident making both Yamuraiha and Lynn take a step back. He stared at the two for one long moment.

Then...

His face brightened, a goofy smile spreading over his face as he grabbed both of them by the shoulders. "Come in, come in!" He invited. Calling to a purple haired bartender, he said, "Sin! We have guests! I think one of them was the girl that Sharrkan had mentioned before."

 _So this was the girl that Sharrkan had always complained about to them. Interesting._

.

.

"Oh shoot, the royal guard is here," Yamuraiha muttered, pulling her hood up and trying to look inconspicuous.

Ja'far, the white haired waiter who both Yamuraiha and Lynn befriended, took one look at the two of them before grabbing them by the arms and escorting them to the back room. "There's a secret passageway you can go through here that we used to use when we were bandits," Ja'far confided. "It'll lead you to a canyon. You're Sharrkan's friend, and I doubt that he'd want you or your companion hurt. Please go through here: we'll delay as best as we can. Best of luck to both of you."

"Thank you, Ja'far," Yamuraiha said quickly before pushing Lynn into the passageway first. "Hurry, I'll follow."

.

.

"Oh my god why are they so quick?" Yamuraiha bemoaned, noticing the group of knights following them. "What should we do?"

Lynn glanced around the canyon. "I have an idea," he said quickly.

.

.

Yamuraiha sputtered, gasping for air.

"Alright, so maybe breaking the dam wasn't the _best_ idea," Lynn admitted, clinging onto a piece of driftwood and pulling her onto it as well. The girl had barely any room to protest as she was still trying to breathe. "At least we lost them."

"Yeah, that's great, but we're now in a cave-in," Yamuraiha muttered. "And we're running out of air. And we need to somehow grab all these rocks away but I can't see anything."

Lynn seemed to be struggling with making a decision, but his face quickly hardened with resolve. "If you judge me or speak _one word_ , I will murder you," he hissed. Yamuraiha had no time to blink confusedly for he began singing.

 _...what the hell._

" _Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what once was mine..._ " Lynn sang, fully aware that Yamuraiha was trying to withhold giggles.

To her surprise, however, his hair began to glow.

 _...alright, seriously...What. The. Hell._

She decided to question things later, instead taking one last gulp of air before diving under and grabbing out more rocks.

.

.

"Oh, you have got to be _kidding_ me. Not only does your hair _glow_ and is extremely luscious and beautiful for a guy's hair, but it also _heals_?" Yamuraiha asked incredulously, seeing the wound on her hand close thanks to Lynn's said magical hair.

"...yeah."

"...I'm totally not judging you right now."

"...shut up, Raiha."

"...by the way, it's...it's Yamuraiha."

"...what?"

"My birth name."

"...thanks."

"...yeah, whatever." She hummed before spotting something in his hair. "What's this? Your hair's brown? Ahah! That's how your hair is so luscious! You dyed it, didn't you?"

Lynn deadpanned, "No. It's just from a time when someone tried stealing my magical hair. Apparently my hair doesn't stay magical if it's cut off."

She hummed thoughtfully, storing this information for later.

.

.

"And _this_ is the town," Yamuraiha threw her hands out dramatically, a grin tugging at her face. "Impressed?"

"...not really."

"Spoilsport," she clicked her tongue in disappointment before grabbing his hand. "Alright, I have an idea."

"W-what?" Lynn sputtered. "Where are you taking me?"

"Hey, kiddos!" She called to several little kids (with strangely colorful hair) braiding each others' hair. "Lookie here."

Lynn froze, then slowly turned his head to meet Yamuraiha's eyes.

If looks could kill, Yamuraiha would be dead by now.

.

.

"Laugh _one more time_ , I dare you," Lynn glowered. "You just had to suggest for them to add flowers."

"You look fabulous, Lynn. Braids suit you," she replied cheerfully.

"...flowers. You just _had_ to have them add flowers."

"Well, Hakuryuu seemed to like the idea of flowers in your hair. It was just to make you look more festive," Yamuraiha snickered. Her expression changed as she strained her ears and heard music coming from somewhere in the town. "Hey, let's go check it out~!"

.

.

"I am not dancing."

"Yes, you are."

" _No_ ," Lynn denied vehemently.

"Yes."

" _No_." He scowled.

"Yes."

"No."

"No."

"Yes...I mean...no!" Lynn sputtered. Yamuraiha sent him a triumphant smirk. He simply sent her a sulky glare before allowing himself to be tugged by the tealette into the crowd of dancers.

.

.

"I am _never_ doing that again."

"What, didn't you like it? _Lynny_ ," Yamuraiha snickered.

"He thought I was a girl because of this stupid braid."

"I think the flowers helped."

"Oh, shut up. This is all your fault."

"You still liked it though, right?" She shrugged, smiling and humming to herself as she began skipping along merrily, hands crossed behind her back.

However, she froze when she heard a quiet, almost inaudible grumble. "...yeah, Yamuraiha."

...

...

"Awwww, Lynny, you _do_ care!"

"Stop calling me that!"

.

.

"Well, here's the as-promised boat."

"Mm. Thanks." Lynn looked preoccupied for some reason as he simply stared at the gondola that would take him out into the water to watch the lanterns that would be launched at the end of the evening. For some reason...he almost looked... _sad_.

"Ready to go?" Yamuraiha asked cheerfully, bringing the boy out of his reverie.

"...what?" He asked bewilderedly.

"You didn't think I was just going to let you watch the lanterns by yourself, did you?" Yamuraiha rolled her eyes, placing her hands to her hips. "I thought you knew me better than that."

Somehow, the atmosphere seemed to lift as Lynn actually smiled (not a smirk, not a grin of amusement, but just a gentle smile that made Yamuraiha pause). "It's only been a few days, you know."

"Yeah, but I'm sure that you've figured out my basic personality by now." She shrugged.

"Moron," he said fondly.

"Idiot." (She knew she was smiling too.)

Ugo gave them both a dry look which both of them ignored. The horse gave up and went off to find some carrots. _Humans._

.

.

"Here," she handed him a lantern. "It's almost time."

"Thanks," Lynn accepted it. At that moment, there was a shout of surprise from one of the ships and the two of them looked up to see one single lantern floating in the sky. She grinned, exchanging glances with Lynn before the two of them lit their lanterns and watched as other ships began to release their lanterns as well.

She heard... _singing_?

Both Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged confused glances before looking over at the source of singing.

"She don't got a lot to say, but there's something about her~ and you don't know why but you're dying to try, you want to-" A figure sang before another figure in the boat whacked the singer.

"Sin, wrong movie!" The other figure hissed.

"Oh, whoops." The first figure laughed sheepishly.

Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged even more confused glances before shrugging and releasing their lanterns. The lanterns floated up into the sky, joining the rest of the lanterns.

"...that was anticlimactic," Lynn commented. Yamuraiha nodded and was about to say something when singing interrupted her again.

"And at last I see the light~" The same singing figure from before ( _"Sin", was it?_ ) and a tall figure that looked suspiciously like Hinahoho from the inn sang together, reaching out to the sky dramatically.

Lynn and Yamuraiha didn't even have to exchange glances with each other as they simply each grabbed an oar and instantly began rowing away from the boat with the singers.

 _("Oi, Sin, now look what you've done. They're gone!"_

 _"What was I supposed to do, Ja'far? They were just sitting there."_

 _"And Masrur, why weren't you helping?"_

 _"...I'm being a good friend."_

 _"To who?"_

 _"Sharrkan."_

 _"...I'm not even going to ask.")_

.

.

"Don't you see, Lynn? Your precious girlfriend stole the crown from you and is rowing away," Alyasa cooed. "Now, why don't you come back with me? After all, mother knows best~"

"...you're crazy," Lynn deadpanned. "For a 'mother', you look exactly my age and have been trying to molest me for the past whatever years of my life. _'Oh, Lynn, do you think I look hot?'_ isn't something that most 'mothers' ask their children."

Her smile dropped. "It doesn't change the fact that your girlfriend abandoned you," she hissed. "Now come back home, Lynn. It isn't safe here."

"...first of all, Yamuraiha is not my girlfriend. Second of all, if she did steal the crown, she's more of the kind of person to show me said crown and rub it in my face. Thirdly, why is the boat headed towards the castle if she's trying to escape with the crown?" Lynn deadpanned. "I'm not an idiot, you know."

"...I see that I will have to take you by force." Alyasa snapped her fingers, two strong looking men appearing out of the bushes.

"...sorry, but not sorry, mother," Lynn said mockingly. Then he whistled. "Ugo!"

...unfortunately for Lynn, Ugo had gotten distracted with the kids who had braided Lynn's hair earlier, also known as Aladdin, Morgiana, Alibaba, Hakuryuu, and Kougyoku. While Lynn was getting kidnapped and spirited away, the horse simply brayed happily as they fed him food while they braided his hair.

(' _Well, at least he tried'_ was the last thought that went through Lynn's mind before he was knocked unconscious.)

.

.

" _Ow_ ," Yamuraiha groaned. "You guys have no idea of how to treat a lady, huh?"

The castle guards did not reply.

"How boring." She idly wondered how Lynn was doing.

(In the tower, a certain blonde haired boy was wondering what he had done wrong in his life to deserve having Alyasa coming after him.)

.

.

"Oh, has my execution time finally come?" Yamuraiha drawled, seeing a guard open the gate. "How kind of you to release me from this prison so soon."

"Shut up," the guard grumbled, and Yamuraiha blinked at the familiar voice.

"...Sharrkan?"

Her fellow thief, disguised in the standard castle guard uniform, simply rolled his eyes and unchained her. "Sinbad and his crew were stalking you," he explained shortly. "And apparently they decided to help you out by storming the palace. Unfortunately for them, they were stupid enough to not disguise themselves. And, well, being the notorious ex-bandits as they were, they were all caught. Except Ja'far. He alerted me, and we're getting all of you out right now."

Yamuraiha blinked at the information. "Alright...why were they stalking me?"

"Oh, don't get me _started_ ," Sharrkan muttered. He unlocked the last chain before glancing around cautiously and handing her a uniform and wig. "Get out of here quickly. I'm going to go find Drakon."

"Good luck, Sharrkan. And thanks," Yamraiha nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. Just remember to put in a good word for me when you're queen, alright?" Sharrkan rolled his eyes.

"Wait...what?"

"Oh, you haven't realized yet," Sharrkan realized. Then he shrugged. "You'll figure it out eventually. Ja'far gathered some info and apparently your Princess is waiting in the tower for you to save him."

"Oh, great." Yamuraiha groaned. "How am I supposed to get there quick enough?"

"Ugo's outside."

"...oh, this is going to turn out _great_."

.

.

Many bruises later, Yamuraiha stared up at the tower. Sharrkan had said that Lynn had to be 'saved', so she doubted that she should just climb up the suspicious hanging hair that was just begging for her to climb. Then again, that would be easier than climbing up rope again. But what if the hair was cut halfway?

Then again, the rope could be just as easily cut off. She resolved to use both rope and the hair and hope for the best.

(The inner sadist in her wanted to see if climbing up the tower using Lynn's hair would hurt the guy, and that idea further cemented her plan.)

When she reached the windowsill, she peered inside and noted that the room was extremely dark.

...okay, definitely suspicious.

"Oi, Lynn, you there?" she called.

There was some shuffling before he hesitantly called back, "Y-yeah, I'm here, Raiha."

That was a warning, she realized quickly. He only called her 'Yamuraiha' or 'moron' once she had revealed her true name, and he wouldn't revert back for nothing. How should she approach this situation?

It turned out that she didn't have time to think, before thin arms snatched her inside.

"You've corrupted my Lynn," a woman who looked a few years older than her growled, knife pressed against Yamuraiha's throat. "And you'll pay for that."

"Uh...sorry, if I knew Princess here had an overprotective girlfriend I would've stayed away? But you know, I'm pretty sure Lynn has always been pretty messed up even without my influence, so-" Yamuraiha's rambling was cut off by the woman, who pressed the knife against her harder. Yamuraiha's gaze flickered upwards towards where Lynn was and she noted his chained status.

"You stole him from me."

"...finder's keepers?" Yamuraiha couldn't help herself. She could almost hear Lynn's mental facepalm.

"Alyasa, stop this," Lynn called.

"Now, now, don't talk to your mother like that."

"...uh, you look a little young to be a mother," Yamuraiha commented dryly. "Also, if you're his self proclaimed mother, I'm sensing some incest vibes from you..."

"You...deserve a slow and painful death," Alyasa said darkly.

"Yeah, I've been told such."

Like mother, like son she supposed as she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

.

.

.

" _Wake up_ , Yamuraiha."

"I...uh...what?" she mumbled uncertainly.

"You're a _moron_ ," Lynn hissed.

"So I've been told."

"Do you make pissing off people with weapons a hobby?" He asked rhetorically.

"Uh...well, frying pans don't count as weapons, right?"

"Do you want to test that?"

"Ahahaha...hah. No thanks."

"Anyways, she's giving me a few minutes to heal you. Now roll over and show me your back," Lynn demanded.

"What's the catch?" Yamuraiha asked immediately, her eyes sharpening calculatively.

"...I have to stay here."

"...of course." Yamuraiha didn't even bother to make a sarcastic remark because she noticed shards of pottery around them. "...what? Why…?"

"Alyasa got a little...angry about my request," Lynn said quietly.

"Hmmm...where is she?"

"She's coming back upstairs. I think she just made me lunch or something to eat after you're dead," Lynn explained shortly.

"Oh, peachy." Yamuraiha saw Alyasa enter the room and smiled. "Hello, there. We started off on less than amicable terms, so let me reintroduce myself, future mother in law."

"Future...what?" Lynn choked at the same time that Alyasa's eyes flashed with rage.

"Just kidding, just kidding. But anyways, did you know that Lynn and I danced together?" Yamuraiha fluttered her eyelashes, hand inching towards one of the larger shards of pottery. "Wasn't that fun, Lynn?"

Lynn studied Yamuraiha's face for a moment before he allowed for a soft smile to make its way on his face. "Yeah."

"You know, Lynn," Yamuraiha said mournfully. "I do like blondes. But..."

And with one swift motion, she cut off the majority of his hair from shoulder down.

"...brunettes aren't that bad either," she finished weakly.

Alyasa screeched in fury, rushing over to the pair, but before she could take one step further the girl turned into dust. Literally.

...okay. Yamuraiha could die now, knowing that yes, magical hair _did_ exist and yes, creepy stalkers could apparently turn into dust from cutting said hair.

"Yeah...okay...um...say thanks to Sharrkan for me if you ever see him," Yamuraiha mumbled. She couldn't help but add, "Princess."

"You are not going to die, you idiot."

"Hey, hey, I thought I was your moron?" Yamuraiha joked lightly, already feeling the pain catch up to her as her legs became numb.

"Stupid, stop talking," Lynn muttered, desperately tugging at his hair. "Come on, come on..."

"Magical hair can't always save us," Yamuraiha commented dryly. Her arms were feeling numb now, too, and it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her eyelids open.

" _Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what once was mine..._ " Lynn said quickly, the words tumbling out of his mouth unevenly.

"You're off tune..." she mumbled, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"Stay with me, moron." His gaze was locked on her.

"...yeah..."

"Oi, do you hear me? We're going to get through this."

"...mm..."

"...Yamuraiha? O-oi, speak to me."

"..."

"...oi, this isn't funny."

"..."

"H-hey, no...you can't..."

"..."

" _F-flower gleam and glow. Let...your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what...what...what once was mine_..." Lynn said shakily. "Please...please...don't..."

" _Flower gleam and glow. Let_...agh, damn it. Damn it." His voice broke slightly. "Why am I so useless? Please, please help her. Please. She's a moron, but...but...she's...Yamuraiha. Raiha. She can't die. She can't."

" _Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse: bring back what once was mine..._ " His voice wavered. "I'm sorry..."

...a single tear slipped down his cheek.

.

.

.

"...so you're telling me that not only did your hair heal, but now your tears do, too?" Yamuraiha deadpanned.

"...I think it was a one time thing," Lynn admitted.

"And awwww, Lynny, you cried for _me_?"

"S-shaddup."

"Mmhm."

"...stop staring at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like... _that_." He gestured uselessly towards her.

"Okay. Oh, also, I kind of came to a realization right before my supposed death," Yamuraiha drawled.

"Oh? Do tell."

"Well...it's about you. You see...I think that...well, it's stupid that I didn't realize it when it was so blatantly obvious to everyone else, but..." Yamuraiha shifted awkwardly, trying to find the correct words.

"...but?" Lynn pressed.

"...you're the lost prince," she said quickly.

"...oh. Okay."

"...what's with that lackluster response?" She questioned.

"...that's not what I expected to hear, but that works too. I kind of realized when Alyasa confronted me for the first time," Lynn explained.

"So you're telling me that I'm the last person to realize this?"

"Basically."

"...alright. Let's go find your parents."

.

.

"Hello, we'd like to request an audience with the King and Queen," Yamuraiha strolled up to some guards cheerfully.

"Oh, okay... _wait a second_ , aren't you...you're Raiha, the notorious thief!" The guard pointed at her shakily, and immediately the rest of the guards turned to her, brandishing their weapons fiercely.

She rose her hands in the air innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Their deadpan expressions were almost as good as Lynn's (which she noticed out of the corner of her eye). Her eyes narrowed as she sighed, not wanting to ever play that card again. But then again, Lynn had to see his parents. And they wouldn't let him through (much less her) unless they had a reason. "By the order of Yamuraiha Mogamett, Princess of the Magnoshutatt Kingdom, I order for you to let us through," she demanded.

...

"...what." Lynn deadpanned.

...oh, whoops. She forgot to mention that _tiny_ detail to him.

"The Magnoshutatt Kingdom and this Kingdom are close allies. Four years ago, I was sent here on the purposes of being engaged to Lord Sharrkan, the son of the King's Head Advisor, in order to cement our alliance. However, Lord Sharrkan and I both decided that we didn't want to marry, and we decided to test our luck at thievery," Yamuraiha explained slowly. "Because we were bored."

...ah, there was that deadpan Lynn expression that she had missed.

"Now let us through, or suffer the consequences of dissing the Princess of your most important ally," she demanded. "Even if you are unsure of my identity, there's still a possibility of this being true. You can escort us, I don't care, if you're unsure of whether or not I am a threat."

Unsurprisingly, the guards allowed them in (although a group of guards escorted them to the King and Queen unsurprisingly: Yamuraiha, after all, had been in the palace before and had stolen the prince's crown from right under their noses).

"...it can't be," the Queen breathed.

"...Lynnian?" the King stood up, studying Lynn's face. Yamuraiha snickered at the overly long name.

After confirming Lynn's identity, lots of family feels, etc., the King finally turned to Yamuraiha, eyes brimming with thankfulness. "Thank you for returning our son to us," he said gravely. "You are...the notorious thief Raiha, correct?"

"Professional thief, shameless playgirl, hottest single on the market," Yamuraiha confirmed, grinning.

Lynn facepalmed.

"You look...familiar, girl." The King searched her face. The Queen, however, was the first one to pick up the clues.

"You're Yamuraiha, aren't you? Oh, Yamu," the Queen said tearfully, and before Yamuraiha could do anything she was engulfed in a hug. "Oh, we were so worried about you and Sharrkan. I'm so sorry my dear. We and Mogamett didn't consider your and Sharrkan's feelings when we decided on the marriage-"

"I'm alright, Queen Mira," Yamuraiha said warmly. "I...I met a lot of people on my journeys as a thief, and to be honest I doubt I would've found Lynn otherwise."

"Ah, just call me Mira as you always did when you were younger. You've grown so _big_ ," Mira squealed, the softer side of the Queen that Yamuraiha remembered so vividly coming out. "Have you met someone special yet?"

"I...uh... _maybe_?"

" _OMIGOSH HISTOK OUR YAMU HAS A CRUSH!"_

" _I never said that!_ "

And they lived happily ever after. Eventually.

(Of course, there were a lot of loose ends to wrap up, but eh. Who has time to speak of those?)

* * *

 **A/N: You can see where I got lazy.**

 **No, seriously, you can REALLY see where I got lazy. XD**

 **Happy New Years. The third part to this should be out soon, but my birthday is coming up and school's starting again so it may take a week or two. Depending on if I have enough time to finish it because THAT part is super long too. Drop a review if you have time? Anyways, I love and appreciate you all so much. Like, it's almost sad how often I check this story's stats and I just go "omg there's a new follower" or "omg a review *clicks as fast as possible*"  
**

 **If you have any questions, you can PM them to me or ask me them in a review. I'll try getting back to you guys soon but idk man this month may be busy. XD (I'm also sinking deeper and deeper into a Sing!Karaoke obsession helppp)**

 **Yep. That's about it. I may edit this author's note later to address any questions, or I may just put those in the next chapter. A lot of you brought up interesting points last time that I'd like to explain to everyone but ughhhhh it's too early in the morning right now for me.**

 **Until next time~**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: I've decided to save Part 3 of the special for a later date because I'm sick of writing omakes orz. I'll get to everyone's requests later, sorry. ; - ; I think you guys will like it, though.**

 **I realized that my solution for chapters I don't like is to put it off as much as possible. Rip. (I hate writing fight scenes orz)**

* * *

I also should clarify a few things from last chapter.

 **.**

 **1) All of the questions asked in the first part were NOT created by me.  
They were created by the lovely **_**Heitor**_ **, who I will continue to give shoutouts to because they're STILL writing gigantic essays...I mean, reviews. Thus, please don't look too deeply into the choice of questions. Everyone was also like "omg Sera's going to die" and looking back all I see is "a flicker of emotion in her eyes" and "hesitated" like omg you guys always think the worst will happen lmao.**

 **2) Also, in case you haven't realized before, I love Sharrkan.  
** **Sharryamu is definitely my Magi otp, but you'll see more of him later in the story when we get into canon. That's why I'm focusing on building other characters rn. Also, Raiha (no matter how sassy and hotheaded she is), is not Yamuraiha. I don't want for you all to ship Sharrkan and Raiha just because Sharryamu is your OTP. I personally feel like Raiha is a less kinder, sassier, more arrogant Yamuraiha tbh lmao. With lots of guilt and angst tendencies. Try seeing how the two interact in this story and decide for yourself.**

 **3) Also, try not to look tooooo deeply into the Disney AUs.  
I sometimes slip hints and foreshadowing in there, but that's really just my stress relief. I wanted to make one of the guy characters a princess, and since Lynn's blonde I made him Rapunzel. I just kind of choose characters as I go lmao. This does not mean that Lynn's hair is magical/he's secretly a prince.**

 **(Did anyone catch that Sharrkan was totally crushing on Raiha in the Rapunzel AU or did I just fail at making that explicit? Muse and sob over the fact that even though he liked her, he still let her go to Lynn.) (Then again, it's fair, since in the last special, Lynn let Raiha go to Nick. Lol.)**

 **4) REGARDING ROMANCE  
** **Don't expect me to actually establish anything in the canon storyline for a while. Ship teases are bae, but Raiha is still pretty young right now. Plus, well, it's fun to tease you all. LOL. (But omakes are fair game because in those, most of the ages get switched up.)**

* * *

 _Voicemail. Again._

 _Clara frowned, her finger hovering over Alex's phone number, debating on whether or not to call the ginger again. It was raining, and she was holding her phone with one of her hands while trying to hold both a bouquet of camellias and an umbrella in the other. "For God's sake, it's her funeral. Where is he?"_

 _She didn't want to be alone. Not now. There were plenty of people there for the funeral: former classmates of Elliot, a distant relative here or there, but nobody that Clara really_ knew _. And nobody that_ Elliot _really knew. Clara's friend had always been a loner, only opening up to Alex, really. The two of them had been like two peas in a pod._

 _Clara remembered the first time when she actually talked to Elliot. Elliot had been...the kind of person that nobody but Alex dared to approach, and Clara had made no effort to learn more about the silent, black haired girl that always sat in the corner of the room before that day. Clara had been finishing up soccer practice, pretty much dead on her feet, when she had been cornered by thugs. ('How cliche', she could recall El laughing about it years later.)_

 _And in came Elliot, her ever lazy drawl interrupting the would-be brawl. "You know, I have pictures and a video of you threatening her right here. If you don't want me to send this to the authorities and post it online, you guys should all scram."_

 _Clara could almost hear her friend's voice._

 _After that incident, Clara had sought to learn more about Elliot. Eventually, Elliot and Alex had somewhat accepted that she was going to be a part of their small little world, and when Clara dragged her childhood friend Yao into the mix, the four had become inseparable._

 _Or so she thought._

 _Yao had called her one day. The two of them, after high school, had gone their separate ways. Alex, El, and Yao had decided to go to the same university. Clara...she was only one who decided to go elsewhere. She had felt lonely for awhile, but began making new friends. She began to become distant from her old friends, something that Clara knew she'd regret for the rest of her life. She thought she had moved on, but…_

 _Yao had called her one day. She had been so surprised when his name flashed on her screen, and although she hesitated for a moment, she picked up._

" _El died. I can't find Alex." Came his baritone voice._

 _Those few words had her all but_ running _to find the ginger. Between the three of them, Alex had been the closest to El. He had to know, if he didn't already…_

 _("Alex! Oh, God, Alex...have you heard?")_

 _("...heard? Clara, what happened?")_

 _Clara was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure approaching her until his hand was on her shoulder. "You okay?" Yao asked, easily grabbing the umbrella out of her hand and holding it over the two of them. He had grown taller, she idly noted. Once upon a time, she would've been blushing to the tip of her ears at his close presence. ("Hormones, those damn hormones_ " _, she remembered her weak excuse to El's teasing.)_

" _Could be better," Clara muttered sardonically. "Where's Alex?"_

" _He's…" Yao hesitated. His grip on the umbrella handle tightened. "I think he's looking."_

" _For?"_

" _Answers."_

 _There was a short pause._

" _You know, grand funerals were never really El's style," Clara commented idly. Her face was placid, but inwardly her heart was thumping loudly in her chest. "They're so dry."_

" _That sounds like something she'd say," Yao agreed nonchalantly. There was something in his face now, a_ light _that wasn't there before as he searched her face to see if she was actually suggesting what he thought she was. It only took a few moments: he knew her too well, probably even more well than how much Alex knew Elliot. Yao took the bouquet of camellias and handed them to one of their old classmates in the crowd, whispering something to them before turning back to her._

" _So...where's your car?" She drawled._

" _Right outside."_

 _She turned around, meeting his sober gaze with a bittersweet smirk. "Well, what are we waiting for? We can't leave Alex searching all by himself, now can we?"_

" _Mm." Yao glanced at the funeral procession for a moment before looking back at Clara. "Let's go help him."_

 _They were walking to his car when she asked quietly, "You're not mad?"_

" _For what?" There was genuine confusion in his eyes._

" _For ignoring you three. From cutting you guys out of my life."_

" _That's life, isn't it?" He shrugged, and they walked a few more paces before she asked even more quietly, "Do you think El would've forgiven me?"_

" _...she probably would've hit you a few times over the head for ignoring us, but...yeah. She would have. She has. Definitely."_

 _A smile tugged at her lips. "Let's go searching for answers. And Alex."_

" _Roger that."_

* * *

Her eyes snapped open to meet startled amethyst right away. "I missed that moron's match, didn't I?" Yamuraiha groaned, rolling off the cot and gingerly stepping on the floor. She still had a killer headache, but at the very least, she felt better than before. "How was the match?"

"It was...amazing," Sera said quietly, unable to find the words to describe it. His excitement grew, an excited spark lighting up his eyes. "I can't believe you missed it, Raiha. Lynn actually _won_ , and it wasn't a win like mine with trickery and deceit, but a _win_. They were exchanging spells so fast that my eyes could barely keep up with them-"

"Alright, I get it," Yamuraiha laughed, stopping the white haired boy before he could ramble more. "How many matches have passed while I've been sleeping?"

"I'd guess around eight?" Sera looked thoughtful. "I'm not quite sure, to be honest. Time flew by so quickly. But Raiha, I believe that they're going to be calling people for the second round of duels now. Will you be alright?"

"Probably." Yamuraiha wasn't all too-inclined to go into another battle, but she supposed she had to. "What are the updated rankings?"

"You're third. Lynn's second. First has stayed the same. I'm...twelfth, I believe? Alyasa is sixteenth."

"Nice," Yamuraiha nodded in acknowledgment. "So we all won our matches?"

"Yeah. Alyasa's actually a pretty skilled dueler, probably because her father's a Magical Theory instructor here. I'm sure she was able to learn some things from him," Sera explained. "Although it's quite impressive that Lynn is as talented as he is. Most people who are that skilled at magic come from the Central Desert, like I do, or Balbadd. Occasionally there's some from the Heliohapt Kingdom or something, but Reim, Kou, and Parthevia mainly keep to themselves."

Yamuraiha hummed. "But they're larger, right? I would've expected for more magicians to come."

"Most of them are an ocean away, so not many take the trip," Sera explained. "I'd actually say the most surprising thing is that there are so few who come from Musta'sim, like you, despite the fact that they're geographically close to us. I suppose Musta'sim really _did_ purge most of the magicians."

"Most of the magicians there were either killed or already fled to Magnoshutatt a long time ago," Yamuraiha confirmed. "I'm just...unique, I suppose." Most magicians, Yamuraiha figured, had already left by the time magician purges got extremely serious. Her parents must have been either crazy stupid or crazy powerful to dare to stay in Musta'sim.

... _oh yeah, her parents._

Yamuraiha was struck by the thought and had to remember that yes, even Yamu must have had parents at a point. Living at the castle had become such an integral part of her second life that she didn't...she didn't even think of such a notion. Maybe she should've questioned Nick or the King. Those two probably could've informed her of her second pair of parents' fates.

She knew she should've been feeling more emotion about such a thing. Some people would've immediately gone looking for their parents, claiming that they wanted to meet them, relieve that burden off of their mind, etc. But Yamuraiha felt no such emotions. To her, Yamu's parents were nothing more than faceless figures who she had never met. Maybe they handed her over to Musta'sim. Maybe they died.

( _Faintly, a woman's voice whispers to her. "I love you, Yamuraiha. My dear, dear daughter."_ )

She ignored that memory for the most part. So it was more probably that they died. A shame. But she didn't really care: she didn't know them, they were just a faint _what if_ that would probably always be there in the back of her mind that she could easily ignore. She knew she was partially lying to herself, but she was _always_ lying to herself, and that was alright. She would be alright. ( _Liar, liar.)_

Sera suddenly perked up and pointed. "Raiha, I think they're starting! We'd better head over there."

Yamuraiha hummed her agreement.

"You're _late_ ," a voice called towards them, and Yamuraiha rolled her eyes at the slightly irritated tone in his voice.

"Sorry," Sera laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He nudged the tealette playfully. "Raiha took a little bit waking up."

"Now, now, you took a while explaining everything too," Yamuraiha protested weakly, but at Sera's deadpan expression she relented, shoving her hands into her cloak pockets. Curiously, her eyes flickered towards the proctors. Marth, the blue haired proctor, was discussing something with Edith, the female proctor, and Erik. They seemed to be in a heated discussion, but after noticing the multiple pairs of eyes on them, Edith cleared her throat and stepped forward to address the crowd.

"We will now begin the second round of magical combat," she announced. "The same rules apply. Thirty points per match, and battle tactic matters. This time, all three proctors will be on the field to monitor and ensure there is no foul play going on. Once again, I advise for you all to be wary of however much information you are giving out about yourself. All contestants, both those who passed and those who failed, are required to stay within the arena from now on."

"Safety precautions," Sera murmured thoughtfully.

"We're a suspicious bunch, I guess," Lynn agreed half sarcastically. His attention turned to the proctors, who called off two random numbers. Straightening himself, he turned to Sera and Yamuraiha. "Let's get a closer look." The three of them easily made their way down to the front seats of the arena.

Yamuraiha observed the two opponents. "Rankings?" She asked Sera, not even needing to look at the white haired boy.

"Seventh and eighth," Sera replied. Studying the two magicians, who were now circling each other warily, he asked, "Who do you think is going to win?"

"Eighth," Yamuraiha and Lynn said together almost immediately. They exchanged grudging glances of acknowledgment before turning back to watch the match.

"Seventh was a Red magician, right? He won against the Wind mage earlier," Yamuraiha observed. It was easier to match a face with their skill, rather than with their rank for her. She observed the eighth place magician's gear for a moment and deduced, "Eighth is a Blue magician. Type advantage, which is something that eighth will definitely take advantage of. I don't think seventh is strong enough to overcome that."

"Not to mention he was acting like the most arrogant idiot earlier," Lynn sniffed. "Even though I suspect he used up a lot of his energy in the first match. Eighth played a good match last round, not to mention she already planted several traps around the battlefield."

"Traps?" Yamuraiha questioned, and when the blonde gestured towards the right side of the arena, the tealette leaned on the railing of the spectator's zone as she tried to get a closer look. If she squinted, she could just barely make out a slight shift in the area. It was sort of like how heat waves were in her past life. On hot days, perhaps one could squint and see a slight distortion in the scenery.

"Water droplets bend the light," Lynn offered a quick but effective explanation. "That's what you did in your match, correct?"

It was actually impressive to see the blonde's deductive skills. Yamuraiha was intelligent: she knew that for a fact. No amount of sugarcoating could deny the fact that when she knew she had to learn something, she'd learn it. If she had to do something, she'd do it one way or another. But she still had the unfair advantage of a lifetime (although whether or not her rather short previous life was considered a lifetime or not was debatable) of experience. Yamuraiha had trained herself to stay vigilant and observant. On the other hand, Lynn and Sera were both exceptionally talented for their ages.

"Yeah," Yamuraiha confirmed, giving him a grudging nod of respect. "It wasn't like I was hiding or teleported. He just couldn't see me."

"It was interesting to watch from the spectator's area, though," Sera added, chuckling. "It seemed like he was getting frustrated and missing you even though you were right in front of him."

Yamuraiha pursed her lips. "Yeah, I haven't perfected that spell yet. I want to be able to make it so that I can conceal myself from all angles. Unfortunately, the best I've got right now is being able to fool a single target or area." It was a bit frustrating, actually. Yamuraiha had shamelessly ripped off her canon self for the idea, but executing the spell was much harder than she had thought.

"Oh, seventh lost," Lynn drawled, looking unsurprised as the magician quite literally collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion. "And they're announcing the next pair." Yamuraiha and Sera were still engaged in conversation, the latter excitedly spouting out random suggestions on how to improve the spell (which Yamuraiha took diligent mental notes of). Lynn was the one to interrupt the two, pointing out, "Sera, I think they just called you."

"Ah, wish me luck." Sera laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he grabbed his staff. "I don't think I'll make it past this round. The statistical probability of me losing is high, especially considering the amount of strain I've put on my magoi reserves. I could try taking a gamble and try that new spell I was testing out, but if the spell doesn't work, my reserves will be reduced to about half of my current amount. Judging by the-"

"Alright, get a move on, Sera," Yamuraiha rolled her eyes in exasperation and pushed the white haired boy away. It had been awhile since she had heard one of his longer scientific rants: probably because he had to play the mature one with Yamuraiha and Lynn always arguing.

"He's louder than usual today," Lynn observed.

"Nah, I think that he's just been hiding his geekiness from competitors. Showing his intelligence would make people wary of him," Yamuraiha explained, waving at her friend down in the arena even though the action was futile. Sera was completely focused on the task at hand. She added thoughtfully, "Although I think he's comfortable enough with you now that he doesn't find hiding his intelligence a problem. Congratulations, you've earned Sera's trust."

The two of them fell silent as they watched the white haired boy and his opponent, a raven haired woman whom Yamuraiha didn't recognize, enter the arena. "She uses Strength magic. You were asleep during her duel," Lynn explained when noticing Yamuraiha's questioning look. "She's skilled."

"Oh, perfect," Yamuraiha mumbled, although her cerulean eyes sharpened a little more as she watched Sera's opponent a little closer. "Ranking?"

"Ninth." They watched as Sera and the female magician exchanged spells, dodging the other's attacks. Yamuraiha winced when she saw a particularly nasty spell hit Sera squarely in the chest. He'd be alright, but that would probably hurt for the next few days. Although around them, plenty of people were talking, both Yamuraiha and Lynn fell silent as they continued observing the match.

The female magician was about to send another spell when Sera rose his hand in the air and shouted, "I concede!"

Immediately, the crowd began murmuring, but Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged glances. That move was smart, Yamuraiha acknowledged in her head. The female magician was clearly more experienced, and Sera looked like he was about to keel over from magical exhaustion. Sera was never the kind to stubbornly keep persevering if he knew it was a sure loss.

Edith announced the end of the match, and then Erik stepped forward. With the same ever-unamused drawl of his, he called, "The next match will be between fifth and sixth."

The crowd started murmuring again, but she paid them no mind.

Lynn and Yamuraiha stared at each other for a moment before a smirk surfaced on Yamuraiha's face. "Prepared to lose?" She challenged, placing a hand on her hip and using the other to experimentally toss and catch her staff in the air. Lynn raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. The blonde looked undeterred as they made their way down to the arena. They passed Sera, who gave them both a cheerful pat on the back and wished them both luck.

Their proctors were waiting for them.

"The rules are still the same. Try not to kill each other, try to keep the arena at least _somewhat_ intact, and so on," Marth, the male proctor, told them. Yamuraiha nodded in understanding. It felt as if the entire audience was watching her, which was probably true to some extent.

Edith nodded curtly at Yamuraiha and Lynn before stepping back a few steps. "The match will now begin," she proclaimed. Immediately, both magicians jumped back, allowing for a larger distance to the part the two as they studied each other intensely.

"Sorry, but I won't be going easy on you," Lynn called to her, twirling his staff with his left hand. _Left handed,_ she noted. Unfortunately, she knew little of Lynn's abilities other than the fact that he was supposedly skilled in magical combat. Yamuraiha wished she had questioned Sera more about Lynn's prowess.

"At least tell me your affinity," she rolled her eyes, summoning several blades of ice which hovered in the air. "Come on, you owe me _that_ much."

Lynn looked faintly amused. "Actually, I don't," he replied. Yamuraiha suddenly felt an influx of magoi and immediately tensed, forming an orb of water around her as she tried to discern his next move. The blonde suddenly shot forward, his staff extended towards her as he continued, "But you'll figure out quickly. _Ramz!_ "

She was barely able to react in time, summoning a Borg that was immediately crushed under the immense pressure of lightning hitting against it. The water surrounding her had dropped to the ground, but she could still feel electricity crackling around her. If she hadn't made a Borg...well, the consequences would've been quite annoying for the medics to deal with.

He was taking this seriously, then. If he used Lightning Magic, there was a very high likelihood that he could use Life Magic. Immediately, she lifted her staff. " _Har Har Rasas!"_

Several glowing orbs of fire appeared, and the fireballs immediately shot out and destroyed any vegetation in the arena. She could see Lynn's slightly surprised look (which he quickly masked) out of the corner of her eye and inwardly smirked. Even so, the battle still wasn't won yet.

She couldn't rely on her Water Magic right now. It was too easy for him to turn that against her with his Lightning Magic. Unfortunately, Yamuraiha's arsenal of other kinds of magic was extremely limited. Not only that, but her magoi reserves still weren't completely recovered. Yamuraiha could see that the possibility of winning this was slim, and that frustrated her. She was startled out of her thoughts when she saw lightning heading towards her.

" _Thalg Al-Salos!_ " She shot a barrage of icicles that blocked the attack, shattering in the air upon impact. She grimaced, shielding herself with another Borg just before Lynn used the opportunity to send another attack at her.

" _Flash!"_ A beam of light shot towards her.

He could use Light Magic too? Yamuraiha scowled and shouted, " _Shallal!"_ The steam was barely able to deflect the light beam in time. Feeling a presence behind her, she whipped around and used her staff to block Lynn's strike. So he wasn't just reliant on magic, she noted as their staffs clashed. Yamuraiha's body was still too young to handle the strain, and she knew she had to use her magic to even the odds.

She leaped back, landing on her feet just barely. Yamuraha's ponytail had come undone and some annoying hair was in front of her eyes, but there wasn't much she could do at the moment, so she ignored it. She'd take a page out of Titus's book, she supposed. She recalled that the blonde had created a massive attack during his battle with Aladdin. How had he done that spell? He had combined Heat Magic, Water Magic, and Strength magic _somehow_.

An explosion. A large explosion. How would she be able to make that with magic?

There was one spell that she knew would be able to concentrate magic to such a level.

" _Dhoruf_ ," she muttered under her breath, preparing herself as she was about to experimentally pressure two other spells, ' _Sharrar_ ' from Water Magic and ' _Har har'_ from Heat Magic. But before she could do anything, she felt the earth shaking below her and immediately cursed. Yamuraiha was unable to react in time, and suddenly there were humongous plants towering over her. One of the vines shot at her, tossing her through the air. She landed against the dirt, panting heavily, and barely rolled out of the way in time to dodge another attack. "Tch," she grunted, groaning and rising to her feet. Her legs were trembling, but using her staff to support her weight, she managed.

" _Har Har!_ " To her relief, the plants began withering, but she didn't have enough time to focus on that. She ducked, avoiding another beam of light by a hair's breath, before returning the spell. " _Flash!"_

" _Flash!_ " Lynn mirrored her attack, and the two beams of light met. For a moment, it was almost like something out of a movie: their two spells fighting for dominance, the arena silent rather than the gritting of teeth as they tried to one-up the other. Then, Lynn dispelled his attack and tilted his head to the left coolly, allowing for her beam of light to miss him by just a centimeter.

"Let's assess the situation. You're almost out of magoi. I have a clear advantage over you physically. You can't even use your primary form of magic because I can easily turn it against you. Conclusion?" Lynn asked calmly, walking towards her. She tensed, narrowing her eyes. Every word made her want to throw away any rationality she still had to charge at him, but Yamuraiha knew that she shouldn't.

Even so...she didn't want to give up. Yamuraiha could've called in stubbornness, maybe perseverance if she wanted to sound more refined, but she knew it was neither. Yamuraiha was simply a prideful person who _couldn't give up_. She hated conceding to people, and she hated relying on anyone else.

Lynn must've seen her reluctance. Before she could react, Lynn started dashing towards her, pushing her on the ground and knocking her staff out of her hands. His staff was at her neck.

"Give," he said breathily, panting slightly. Some of his golden hair had slipped out of his ponytail, brushing against her face due to their proximity. Yamuraiha resisted the urge to squirm, as she knew that would do no good. He knew that too, a smirk tugging at his lips. "You know you've lost."

"Screw you," Yamuraiha mumbled.

"Five seconds before you get a nice shockwave," Lynn sang. "I'm wai~ting~"

There was a long moment of silence as the two glared at each other.

"...concede…"

"I think you need to say it louder, Raiha. Erik probably can't hear you." She could hear the smugness in Lynn's voice.

"I concede," Yamuraiha called to Erik, every fiber in her being screaming for her to continue fighting. The only thing that held her back was her rational mind.

"The match is finished," Erik announced to the audience, although they could probably tell that for themselves.

"I'm going to kick you where it hurts if you don't get off of me right now," Yamuraiha said immediately, and Lynn wisely rolled over on his side and got to his feet. He extended a hand to her, which she reluctantly took, and hoisted her up to her feet. "I'll get back at you, someday."

"Keep dreaming." Lynn rolled his eyes.

* * *

Alyasa lost to a random raven haired, male magician. Yamuraiha was surprised to see that the girl actually was decent at magical combat, but then again, she could trace some of that skill back to the fact that the girl's father was an instructor in Magnoshutatt. She'd probably be guaranteed a passing spot, Yamuraiha supposed. And somewhat grudgingly, she admitted in her head that her roommate _did_ deserve a passing spot.

Sera noticed her glowering features and rolled his eyes. "You're so egotistical, sometimes," he noted.

"More like vain. Or arrogant. I think I have a superiority complex," Yamuraiha snorted, only half joking. She always liked being on top: being second to anyone was an infuriating thing to her. That was another reason to add to her lengthy list of reasons of ' _Reasons not to join Sinbad and co.'_ : she wouldn't be able to easily submit to such a man.

It wasn't like Yamuraiha disliked Sinbad's character: on the contrary, she admired the way that he was able to forge connections so easily, and how he could twist situations to his advantage. She just knew that the man was too charismatic: if she joined him, she would be joining as a minion. And that was slightly dissatisfying.

(Yamuraiha also knew that wherever Sinbad was, there was bound to be trouble. She'd try to stay _away_ from the plot, thank you very much.)

Then again, Yamuraiha wasn't sure about how much her absence would impact the plot. Canon Yamuraiha may not have been a major character like Alibaba or Aladdin, but she still played a crucial role in some ways. Even so, she was sure that Sinbad would be able to scrape another magician to cover canon Yamuraiha's role from somewhere. Better yet, maybe it'd be better if they just had Seven Generals: "Sinbad, conqueror of the Seven Seas, and his Seven Generals". That sounded much better than "the Eight Generals".

Maybe, she supposed, she'd even manipulate somebody here to take her spot. Sera seemed like he would go far in Magnoshutatt, and if she pulled some strings here and there, it was possible for her to get Sindria connected with Magnoshutatt. Maybe he could become some kind of ambassador or diplomat to Sindria.

Then again, Magnoshutatt had originally been discovered to be experimenting with Black Rukh. Their connection to Al Tharmen might not appeal to Sinbad.

Yamuraiha realized that she was thinking too long-term and immediately stopped, her eyes narrowing as she watched the battle down below in the arena. It didn't matter what happened to Sindria, or the rest of the world. As long as she secured the safety of her and the rest of her friends back in Musta'sim, that was good enough for her. She was sure the canon characters could figure out some plan by themselves.

Eventually, after a few more rounds, Lynn ended up losing to the first place magician: a middle aged man who praised Lynn for his valiant efforts and young talent before proceeding to completely demolish him. Yamuraiha couldn't help the smug look that slipped on her face when the blonde returned to her and Sera's side, scowling. Seeing her smug look, Sera elbowed her side, sending her a scolding glare. Unfortunately, Lynn had already seen her change in expression and his scowl deepened.

"They're announcing something," Sera intervened before the two could do anything reckless. Yamuraiha turned her attention to the arena, and indeed, Sera was right. At first, it was hard to make out the words, but the magicians probably used some variation of Sound Magic. Marth's voice boomed through the arena.

"As with the previous years, those who have passed will be sorted into three groups. Group A shall consist of the top ten magicians. Group B will take the next twenty-five, or the magicians ranked eleventh to thirty fifth. Group C will take any other magicians who the judges deem should pass. You will be informed of whether or not you passed tonight. Rooms may be moved around, should you or your roommate not pass," Marth explained to the crowd.

"Classes will start tomorrow, immediately," Edith declared.

* * *

 **A/N: Can you see how much I dislike this chapter?**

 **HOORAY I'M ACTIVE ON FANFICTION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AGES ORZ. Sorry guys, I've become extremely immersed in the voice acting and youtaite world. I'll probably throw in a link to a chorus here and there because I'm a shameless self advertiser. (Heyyyyy, I'm sure at least one of you would be interested in hearing the voice of the person who writes Raiha? Lol not even, but whatever =u=)**

 **.**

* * *

 **Short update on what I'm doing:**

 **1) Starting a blog with two other fanfictioners! You can request anything from any of us, and we can write it. I'll post the link in the next chapter probably, but feel free to ask and I can PM it to you.**

 **2) Working on a Detective Conan/Magic Kaito OC!Aoko story. ANY DETECTIVE CONAN FANS OUT THERE? Please tell me I'm not alone /sobs**

 **3) On the bright side, there'll be timeskips in this story in a bit during the Magnoshutatt period. ;) As cute as our characters are, we're going to pick up the pace. UNFORTUNATELY, the Adventures of Sinbad have still not introduced Yamuraiha. I want to stick to canon (at least for her introduction, in case it's vitally important), so I'm going to see if the manga or I write/draw faster. If I reach the point where Raiha has to meet Sinbad and co. before the manga has, I have their meeting planned out already.**

* * *

 **Fun Facts as an Apology for the Wait (these will be continued throughout the story):**

 **1) Originally, Lynn and Sera were going to be closer to Yamuraiha's age. Then I realized that having several admittedly very intelligent kids would be too OP and now they're older than her.**

 **2) Originally, I was planning on writing an OC!Morgiana story instead of OC!Yamuraiha.**

 **3) Hooray, you'll slowly discover more of Raiha's past life via her old friends.** **  
**


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: Bloop, still alive. Take this chapter and begone with it.**

* * *

 _Knock. Knock._

 _She could see light from under the door, meaning that Alex was definitely inside. He was an energy freak and would never leave the lights on if he was out. She waited for a few minutes, scowling impatiently, before grabbing the spare key hidden under the mat in front of the door. She swung the door open, intending to berate her friend for not answering the door, then stopped in her tracks. "Alex, are you reading manga_ again _?"_

 _The ginger hardly looked up from his book, too engrossed in the story to meet her eyes. He was sprawled out on a couch, holding up the book towards the ceiling so he could read. She scowled and marched forward, grabbing the book from out of his hands. Immediately, he looked up to meet her eyes and weakly protested, "Come on, El. I'm in the middle of the part when Kassim's talking to Alibaba."_

" _We have a_ project _to work on, in case you've forgotten." The black haired girl rolled her eyes, taking off her blue backpack and setting it down on the ground. "And I doubt the professor will appreciate you going on and on about Rukh instead of genetic engineering."_

" _Point taken," Alex acknowledged, and he quickly bounced up to his feet. "Want something from the kitchen? I can go make us some hot chocolate."_

" _Alex," Elliot groaned, but the ginger hummed cheerfully and ignored her. Sighing, Elliot glanced around the house, sitting down on the couch somewhat awkwardly. "Where are your parents?"_

" _Off on a business trip," Alex called from the kitchen. In a few moments, he reappeared in the living room, carefully balancing a tray with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate and a few snacks. "Pocky?" He offered._

" _Idiot," she murmured fondly, accepting the sweet._

" _Don't worry, though, you can meet them next time," Alex spoke up, casually sipping his drink as he sat down beside her. Elliot rolled her eyes, taking a gulp of hot chocolate before replying._

" _The way you say that makes it sound like we're dating."_

" _We could if you want to," Alex offered nonchalantly, his green eyes glittering with mischievous humor. Elliot almost spat out her hot chocolate, choking a bit. She pounded her chest in an effort to calm herself down and glared at her friend (who was looking very amused and pleased with himself)._

" _You did that on purpose."_

" _I have no idea what you're talking about," Alex said cheerfully, leaning back on the couch. "But I'm serious, you know. They want to meet that-one-bipolar-classmate I'm always talking about."_

" _I'm not bipolar," Elliot scowled, but she knew that he was just teasing._

" _Sorry, I meant extremely hot-headed and stubborn," Alex deadpanned. "I'm still trying to figure out if you have a superiority or inferiority complex."_

" _When you figure that out, tell me," she said dryly. "But are you sure they want to meet me just because of...well, me?"_

" _They know about your Dad," Alex admitted, "But it's not like they're asking to have dinner with_ him _, you know. They want to meet you. Speaking of which, how's your Mom?"_

" _Same old, same old," Elliot answered, gaze darkening. "Saying she's going to meet up with an old friend and coming back home drunk at three in the morning smelling of cologne. It's a miracle that the press hasn't caught word of her activities by now."_

" _Hey, El…"_

" _Mm?"_

" _Are you...okay?"_

 _She blinked in surprise at the suddenly heavy atmosphere. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, sure it's annoying, but I got over the fact that my mom's a cheater a long time ago."_

" _I guess," Alex sighed, the conversation shifting from its serious tone back into a more playful one. There was a glint in the ginger's eyes that she immediately recognized. His expression spelled 'trouble', and Elliot scooched away an inch or two warily. "Well…" he purposely trailed off._

" _Alex…" she said warningly._

" _If you're ever lonely, feel free to leap into my arms," Alex said with a shit eating grin, latching onto her arm. It was obvious that the boy was amused by how uncomfortable Elliot looked. "What, don't like the idea of hugging me?" He teased, and she pushed him off of her._

" _Of course not," she scoffed. "Stop being stupid."_

" _I mean it, though." His eyes were shining with sincerity that made her pause. Elliot bit her lip, rolling her eyes._

 _She punched him in the arm lightly, muttering, "Yeah, yeah. Let's start working on the project."_

* * *

"You're heading somewhere."

Yamuraiha's hands froze, hovering above the doorknob uncertainly. Taking a deep breath, she turned around and glanced at her roommate who was lying in bed, face covered by her bedsheets. "Yes, I am," she said evenly. Although her expression was placid, inwardly Yamuraiha was already freaking out and frantically searching for possible excuses for her strange behavior. She had been sure that Alyasa had fallen asleep already: the brunette had headed straight to bed after sulkily learning that she was placed into Group B. It seemed as if she had miscalculated, and it'd be hard to write off her behavior as something non suspicious.

"...I see."

"You're not going to report me?" Despite the gravity of the situation, Yamuraiha couldn't help but raise her eyebrows.

"Nah, not like it'd make a difference," Alyasa grumbled, the bedsheets muffling her voice. "You'd find a way to get out of it, anyways. You're too smart."

Of all the things that her roommate could've said, _that_ wasn't what Yamuraiha expected. Glancing at the door wistfully for a moment, Yamuraiha turned away from it. The tealette strolled over to Alyasa's side somewhat curiously. Wondrously, she commented, "That's probably the nicest thing you've said to me yet. Are you...alright?"

"Shut _up_ ," Alyasa snapped, her head popping up from under the covers. "You don't know _anything_ about me."

Ah, that was probably the wrong thing to say. Yamuraiha had almost forgotten that she was surrounded by teenagers ( _children, really_ ) that still had their erratic mood swings. Raising her hands up placatingly, Yamuraiha amended, "That came out wrong, sorry. But you seem a bit...down. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Who are you, now, a counselor?" Yamuraiha inwardly admired the girl's easy deflection. Her roommate's shoulders suddenly sagged, her forest green eyes lowering to the bedsheets as she picked at the sheets sulkily. "It's not fair…" she mumbled, and Yamuraiha sensed that the girl just needed time to rant. The tealette stayed silent. "You're so smart, and you're only a kid. And those two guys are both smart too. Dad said that it's normal for kids my age to be in Group B, yet both you and Lynn got into Group A easily. I bet if Sera wanted to, he could've done something and gotten into Group A too. You know, if he tried harder. But he's all about that sappy 'I don't need to be the best' bullshit. Give me a _break_."

It then dawned on Yamuraiha that despite everything, her roommate was still a teenage girl. And from listening to the girl's rant, it seemed as if she had some insecurities about herself. Yamuraiha had never been the most eloquent speaker: in both this life and her past life. She had always preferred to leave the emotional comfort to Alex in her past life.

( _Oh God, she was looking at her, expecting a response, expecting_ something _from her. She was expecting her to comfort her, to offer advice, to...to…)_

 _(There were just_ so many _expectations that she couldn't live up to.)_

 _(She didn't know what to do.)_

"Not everyone is the same," Yamuraiha tried lamely, and before she knew it, the words were tumbling out of her mouth in a mass of jumbled sentences. "Your father is right: Lynn and I are both extremely unusual. Maybe it's natural intelligence, like you seem to think. Or maybe we just have a strong motivation to learn more. I can't really say. For me, magic has always been a source of wonder: something that I wanted to learn more about. Not only that, but I wanted to live up to the expectations that people have for me...back home. There's probably something that you have a passion for, and for me, it's magic. Being able to combine all kinds of spells and creating new ones...it thrills me. You're not unintelligent: far from that. For your age, your prowess is extremely impressive. I just suppose that some things come easier to certain people, but that doesn't mean that you're not _bright_. You just need time."

Alyasa stared at her for a moment.

Yamuraiha shifted awkwardly in her shoes.

"That," her roommate said evenly, "...was the worse pep talk, _ever_."

"Thanks, I try," Yamuraiha mumbled.

"...but thanks."

Yamuraiha was getting somewhat uncomfortable thanks to the less hostile atmosphere. She was _not hardwired_ to deal with fluff, or friendship feels, or whatever else Alex might have labelled this scene if he saw it. "Alright, so I need to go somewhere," she mumbled. "Be back soon."

Alyasa didn't reply, but that itself was acknowledgment of her statement. Yamuraiha felt a smile threatening to break out on her face and quickly masked it, turning around and exiting the room.

* * *

"You came," Erik said in a somewhat impressed tone. The raven haired man was slouching back in his chair lethargically, olive green eyes observing her as a scientist did with a particularly interesting specimen. Tapping his pen against the desk in front of him absentmindedly, he asked, "How'd you get past the sentries guarding the dorms?"

"Same move that I used during my first fight," Yamuraiha explained idly, taking a seat in the empty chair facing him. "I used water droplets to bend the moonlight. Since it was already pretty dark, it wasn't that hard to slip out unnoticed. Lynn does it all the time to train, apparently."

"He's a smart kid," Erik admitted. "I wasn't expecting that much from him."

"Neither did I, when I first saw him," Yamuraiha agreed, flashing Erik the piece of paper that he had handed to her before. In a showy, somewhat superfluous gesture, Yamuraiha burned the note with a small tap of her staff. She drawled, "It's impressive for a person of his age to be so advanced. It makes me jealous, in all honesty."

"But you _do_ have to look at yourself, as well," Erik pointed out. His face, which had previously been a relaxed, somewhat amused expression, quickly shifted to a darker one. "Anyways, discussing that blondie wasn't the reason I called you here. I wanted to ask you now before you did anything stupid: how did you get here?"

Yamuraiha sent him a confused look, which definitely didn't fool the man. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Yamuraiha deadpanned.

"Look, we don't have time for games. I'd give us approximately two hours before one of the sentries discovers you're missing. Given that you came from Musta'sim, they'd mark you as a suspicious figure for the rest of your time in Magnoshutatt," Erik revealed. Yamuraiha had to grudgingly agree with his evaluation of the situation.

"I came through the desert, like I said," Yamuraiha's eyebrows creased. _Now_ she was truly confused. It didn't seem as if the man suspected her as a spy, which she thought was the reason he called her here...so, what exactly did Erik mean?

"Through your sleep? No, you'd probably be more desperate to get back. A sinkhole?" Erik mused, and with each word Yamuraiha was getting more and more confused. He wasn't making any sense. "No, not right either. If it's not one of those, then maybe...death. Well, judging by your reaction during the mental trial, I'd say...drowning?"

That word made Yamuraiha's blood run cold, and before she could even think, she was lunging for his throat. "Tell me _exactly_ how or why you know about _me_ ," Yamuraiha hissed, and although to anyone else the question may have seemed extremely vague, she knew that Erik would understand. Erik, in contrast to Yamuraiha's tense posture, seemed unbothered by the fact that he was being held up in the air by a girl who was (physically) half his age.

"Teal hair," he mused, unperturbed. He sounded nonchalant: irritatingly so. "They had told me about a girl with teal hair, before. Raiha...you're not really Raiha, are you? You're Yamuraiha."

"I'm _not_ her," Yamuraiha growled immediately, and she gritted her teeth and screwed her eyes shut, trying to calm herself down. Slowly, after a few breaths, she let go of the older man, sinking back into her chair. "Sorry, I lost my composure," she apologized halfheartedly, shoulders sagging. "But...you owe me answers."

"I don't really."

Yamuraiha's voice had lost the furious tone she adopted before. Instead, she spoke with a quiet intensity. "You called me out here in the dead of the night, revealed that you know that I died, and discovered my real name. You're risking my tuition at Magnoshutatt right now, and every second that passes here is an opportunity for someone to discover that I'm missing. And you tell me you _don't owe me answers_?"

"Alright, alright. You've made your point. Sit back down completely and I'll tell you what I know," Erik rolled his eyes. Yamuraiha blinked and realized that she must have gotten up from her seated position while talking to him, and sat back down. As soon as she did, he asked her, "How much do you know of the future?"

"I want answers first."

"How much." It wasn't a question anymore.

Yamuraiha gave up and spoke to Erik as she would to an equal who knew as much as she did. Whether or not the man knew what she meant, she didn't know: Erik had a complete poker face expression on his face. "I'm assuming that this place is secure, and the contents of our discussion are not being leaked right now?" Erik didn't answer, but that was confirmation in itself. "Up to a certain point: I died sometime during the middle of the Final Arc," She licked her chapped lips and demanded, "Answers."

"Fair enough." Erik seemed to pause for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. Then, he began, "When I was a little boy, my parents used to tell me about a different world. A world with large buildings that seemed to scrape the sky itself, a world of many different cultures and countries that didn't completely coexist, just like this world. That world, they had told me, was where they originally belonged."

Yamuraiha stayed silent, allowing for the man to continue. "My mother was a dreamer. She always told me about how she thought she could change this world for the better, for everyone to live happily. She knew things about this world's future. _Manga_ , she had told me. Reading them was her hobby from Back Then. On the other hand, my father knew nothing about this world. He had told me that he thought he had just been reincarnated with his memories intact, but when he met my mother, he realized he wasn't the only one who was from That World."

Erik's eyes seemed to soften as he continued explaining to her. "At first, they searched far and wide for a way to return to That World. Eventually, they realized it was useless, and instead began to embrace this world. From what they told me, there were others like them...like _you_. They always told me not to tell anyone about their secrets, though. My mother always said…"

Seeing that the man was becoming lost in his thoughts, Yamuraiha prompted him. "...said?"

"' _Al Tharmen hasn't discovered people like us, yet. We must keep it that way'_ ," he quoted, and a shiver ran down Yamuraiha's spine. Erik's eyes slid over to her, and he continued, "My father passed away: his ship was lost at sea thanks to a storm. It hurt at first, but my mother and I got along without him. But...eventually, my mother caught a disease. She realized she was dying, so she began to lock herself up in her room for days at a time. Later, I found out that she was writing: she was copying down every single detail of this world's future that she could remember, along with all of the theories that my father and she had come up with. She told me to go to Magnoshutatt, where I'd be safe, as I had quickly developed magical abilities. And in the case that I ever met someone like them, I was to help them."

She wasn't alone.

That thought alone was enough to make Yamuraiha want to crawl in a hole and die ( _she thought she was_ done _with Earth_ ), but at the same time it also caused for a strange feeling to buoy in her chest. _She wasn't alone._ There were others like her. There was a feeling of _belonging_ that comforted her, as much as she'd like to deny it. "How'd you know I was...like your parents, though?" Yamuraiha questioned.

"The Rukh around you," Erik explained, and at Yamuraiha's jolt, the man quickly continued, "It isn't obvious to the other magicians, you don't have to worry about that. The only reason I realized it was because I've grown up with that feeling of _nothingness_ that accompanies people like you. At first, I thought it was that blondie, since you were always around him. But during the mental trial, I realized that it was _you_."

"Interesting…" Yamuraiha glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well...sorry, but you're not a special snowflake," Erik deadpanned. "Although it's quite interesting that you were reborn into a...canon, was that the term?" At Yamuraiha's nod, he continued, "...canon character. I doubt you'll find any other characters in the same predicament as you: throwing one large pebble into the pond is already enough."

"So it was just my luck of the draw that I was reborn as Yamuraiha?" Yamuraiha asked, and at Erik's shrug she rolled her eyes. "Well, I wonder if _everyone_ is reborn into different worlds…" she mused. "That would be quite interesting. But why would I be reborn in a _fictional_ world?"

"Maybe it isn't fiction," Erik suggested. "Perhaps the creator of that...manga had originally been from this world, and by a fluke still remembers his past life. Or, maybe, his subconscious remembers. Alternatively, maybe this world _is_ fiction in your world, and we're all living a lie. Or, maybe there's the idea of parallel universes. There's a universe where this world is fiction, and there's a universe with you. We'll probably never know."

"I still wonder, though...why am I here?" Yamuraiha sighed, leaning back in her chair more. For some reason, being able to throw back and forth random ideas and theories was soothing: before, she hadn't had anyone to talk to about this kind of thing. And although she still thought Erik was a bastard (being the vengeful creature she was, Yamuraiha _definitely_ was going to get back at him someday for the mental trial), he was a smart one. "A fluke? Or am I here for a purpose? I read stories in the past, you know. They always were about saving the world being our duty. 'With great knowledge comes great responsibility', and other cliche nonsense like that. But...am I here to change things? Or if I change things, will that only make things worse?"

"Whatever it is, the 'Magi' world that you knew in your past life may not be like this world," Erik shrugged. "Most of the people who are reborn and remember their past lives keep quiet about it, you know. There might be some who've changed things, slightly, but I doubt so. The majority of them are like my father: people who don't recognize this world or know of its future. Basically, those who haven't read about this world in their past life."

For a moment, Yamuraiha froze as she seemed to recall ginger hair and green eyes. Quickly, she shook herself out of it. _There was no way._

"...name." Yamuraiha blinked and realized that she had spaced out on Erik. She sent him a sheepish smile, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly. The olive green eyed man hardly looked pleased, but he sighed and repeated, "What's your real name? I'm not about to be calling you 'Raiha' when we're alone, now that I know that's a lie, but if you don't want to be called Yamuraiha…"

Yamuraiha weighed her options for a moment, but decided that no harm could _really_ come out of giving it to him. "Elliot," she whispered. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders as soon as the name escaped her lips. Words became tumbling out much more easy than before, and she volunteered, "My name was Elliot. But everyone called me 'El'."

She was waiting for some kind of reaction: negative or positive, she wasn't really sure. Erik was studying her with the intensity of a scientist, and she knew that her face must have belied some of her emotions. His lips twisted into something between in smirk and a sneer, but it wasn't an expression of judgment: more of _amusement_ , if any. "Such a boyish name," Erik snorted. "Did your parents want a boy, or something?"

"I guess," Yamuraiha replied noncommittally, shrugging. All the tension in her form disappeared. The tealette stood up, shoving her hands into her robe pockets. "But anyways, I should be getting back, now. I have classes tomorrow, so I need to sleep. Being a kid is annoying." The last statement was more of a complaint mumbled to herself, but being the perceptive person he was, Erik caught it.

"How old were you when you died?" Erik raised an eyebrow.

"A young adult," Yamuraiha shrugged again. The information wasn't really relevant, so she left it at that. "It's not _that_ bad being a pipsqueak. Just annoying sometimes when you realize you need a drink but can't get it. Underestimation helps, though, in duels."

"What, are you going to blackmail me for booze, now?"

"Nah, it's bad for my body. I want to grow tall again, after all," Yamuraiha wrinkled her nose. It was irritating to be as short as she was, and if Yamuraiha could recall correctly, her canon self had never been _that_ tall. "I'll be going, now."

"Don't get caught sneaking back into the dorms," Erik called, watching her receding figure. "...El."

"Yeah, yeah." She waved him off.

* * *

"You look like shit."

"Why, aren't you just a _charmer_ in the morning?" Yamuraiha drawled, folding her arms across her chest. She was dressed in her black magician's garb, with a matching witch hat to boot (the tealette had chortled the first time she had seen the outfit), and slung around her left shoulder was a leather satchel which carried parchment and feather pens. Somewhere inside the satchel was her schedule (also known as her _Maref_ ), the paper carefully folded and slipped into the side should she forget what classes she had, but Yamuraiha doubted it'd be of much use to her anymore. She had spent a lengthy amount of time the night before memorizing her schedule, not to mention she had spent the majority of the morning wheedling any tidbits of information she could about the instructors from Alyasa.

Lynn looked irritatingly perfect. His blonde hair, still pulled up in his usual feminine ponytail, starkly contrasted against the black robes. Not a strand of hair was out of place, and his blue eyes were awake and sharp. Yamuraiha immediately labelled him as the kind of person to look aware of his surroundings no matter the time of day, and scowled. She had never been a morning person, and it was no surprise that her appearance looked much more haggard than her blonde companion's.

"Just speaking the truth. You're already unfeminine as it is, but with your current appearance you look more like the _dead_ than a man _or_ woman," Lynn deadpanned. Yamuraiha inwardly seethed at his words, but plastered on a serene smile.

"Let's try not to make a scene in the hallway," Yamuraiha said, eyebrow twitching as she tried to maintain a friendly aura around her. It was hard to do, staring at Lynn's derisive and almost _smug_ face, but the blonde eventually relented. Cordially, she continued, "I'm assuming, due to the small number of magicians in Group A, that we have the same schedule?"

"Magical theory, history, dueling, economics, then a class specializing it your magic type, correct?" Lynn listed off easily, counting each class with a finger. "I heard that some instructors for Group A might even send out letters of recommendations for Zemi."

"Zemi?" Yamuraiha asked, but before Lynn was able to answer, Sera came barrelling into the conversation.

Beaming, the white haired boy clutched onto his bag and asked the two, "Are you both excited? We're about to have our first day of lessons, here."

Yamuraiha and Lynn exchanged glances before a small smile appeared on Yamuraiha's face. Laughing, she nodded. "I guess I'm rather excited. I've been anticipating this for awhile," she admitted. "But what's 'Zemi'?"

"High-level Maref," Sera explained. "Usually, first-year students don't get the privilege of doing them this year, but they've introduced some changes into the curriculum. Most are theoretical, like 'Magic Military Strategy' or 'Possibility of Teleportation'. But there's other interesting ones that have started, like 'Djinn Research'. Ever since Dungeon Conquerors have begun to gain notoriety, like Sinbad, people have been expressing interest in such a class. They're taken after regular classes." Ah, now Yamuraiha recognized it. Aladdin had taken one of them...Something about the manipulation of the Rukh that eventually led him to discover how Magnoshutatt was dealing with Dark Rukh.

"Well, that'd be an interesting pastime," Yamuraiha mused. Not to mention it would be valuable data which she could pass back to Musta'sim, but it wasn't like the tealette was going to blurt out _that_ small bit of information. Speaking of which…

Yamuraiha could feel the _other_ piece of parchment inside of her satchel weighing heavily upon it. Inside, scrawled in barely legible writing, was a complete summary of the tests and requirements to enter Magnoshutatt Academy, along with a list of scrolls in the Musta'sim library that assisted her in scoring well on the theoretical portion. She wasn't sure if the king would actually use the information or not: Musta'sim probably didn't have that many people with sorcerer's abilities left after their purge, and the probability of them getting another infiltrator into the Academy was slim to none.

Even so, the data would be deemed 'useful' and 'usable' enough, and it would buy her time to learn more about the Academy. Her handwriting was nearly illegible, but she knew for sure that there'd be one person who'd be able to read it in the castle: he had, after all, grown up reading her chicken scratch for most of his life.

Just in case the message was intercepted, however, Yamuraiha had made sure to code its contents, leaving only one uncoded page as a reference. They'd figure it out soon enough: Yamuraiha didn't doubt Nick's intelligence at all.

The real problem was how to get the message to Musta'sim, something that she had been working on all the way back in Musta'sim.

At first, Yamuraiha had tried to research Light Magic farther. Space-Time Magic was a subtype of Light Magic, and she was hoping that she'd be able to utilize it and create small portals (or, as they were called by in more technical terms, transfer magic circles) to facilitate the transfer of information. Unfortunately, she discovered that was near impossible: the sheer amount of Magoi required to open one portal would cause too much of a strain for her body.

If she was a Magi, of course, that'd be a different story. Longingly, Yamuraiha wished she had the same powers as Aladdin. It just seemed so _easy_ with such a limitless supply of fuel. But Yamuraiha knew such a thing was impossible. "Loved by the Rukh", her ass. It felt as if the Rukh, as non-living (although that term was debatable) as it was, disliked her.

Instead, Yamuraiha could risk the possibility of getting caught by employing a human messenger, or she could try using Wind Magic. She had also looked into Clairvoyance Magic: a subtype of magic that didn't really fall under any main type. Unfortunately, she realized that she'd only be able to communicate with people through that magic, and although the thought of talking to Mira or Dunya was tempting, she refrained from doing so. It was too easy to get caught if she spent hours at a time talking to a crystal orb or the sorts.

 _Wind Magic it is, then,_ the girl sighed. If Yamuraiha was able to find the opportunity to do so, she could create a gust of wind strong enough to propel the scroll back to Musta'sim. It didn't have to be a large, awesome spell like the tornadoes characteristic of Wind Magic: just a simple gust of wind would do.

She shut her eyes, mentally chanting to herself. _30 degrees to the Northwest, about three thousand kilometers away._ She'd have to aim carefully, not to mention she'd have to make sure that she'd have enough Magoi to sustain the literal messenger wind for the entire distance.

"Hey, class's about to start," Lynn's voice cut through her thoughts. The blonde scowled at her, tapping his foot impatiently. "Sera already left. Are you coming or not?"

"Ah, right," Yamuraiha nodded her head, stumbling after the magician.

* * *

When the two had entered the classroom, immediately the rest of the Group A members fell silent. It was relatively uncomfortable. But, Yamuraiha had to admit, they both were pretty unusual. Usually, only middle-aged magicians who had been training for a long time would be able to show such prowess in magic. They'd probably have to deal with underestimation.

"So _these_ are the two young upstarts who somehow managed to make Group A."

"Can't believe it…"

"...getting younger and younger…"

Lynn ignored the whispers, setting his bag down on a desk in the back, unceremoniously sitting down and glaring at anyone who tried to stare at him. Yamuraiha pursed her lips: she wanted to sit in the back also, as it was a nice vantage point to observe the rest of the classroom and the people in it. But the only empty seat in the back left was next to _Lynn_.

Reluctantly, the girl set her bag down beside the blonde and sat down.

"Alright, brats!" A voice barked from the front of the room. "Maybe you're feeling self confident for getting into Group A. Awww, you special snowflakes. Well, let me tell it to you as it is: despite the fact that you are in Group A, you are _first year students_. Your magic is mediocre, at the very best, and I am here to guide you to be better. My name is Edith, and I'll be your Magic Theory instructor. We'll be going over the basics, first, as I'm sure not _all_ of you did that well on the theoretical exam."

Yamuraiha sighed and slunk back in her seat. _It was going to be a long day._

* * *

 **A/N: Ayyyy I love you guys so much! No, honestly. You're all just the sweetest people haha, and I feel bad that I can't update sooner LMAO. But anyways, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND WORDS LIKE OMG I'M SOBBING HAHAHAHA.**

 **I'M SO SORRY I COULDN'T REPLY TO EVERYONE /SOBS. Take this chapter instead haha?**

 **After careful consideration (and all of your encouragement like omg why have I not realized that I am not the only Magic Kaito fan out there), the Aoko!OC story will be released. If things go right, the first chapter should be right up after this haha. It'll be much shorter/drabble like than this story, less plot heavy and more...err...idk. (I'm going to regret this later, I swear.)**

 **Also, my Magi characters still are writing themselves :o Erik...well, I had several different plans for him, but this one came most naturally to me haha so...er...sorry? IDK. I guess it's psychologically beneficial that Raiha has somebody to talk to about her reincarnation. Hopefully their talk cleared up a little bit of how my theory for reincarnation in Magi works. LOL. Basically, it's based off of the theory that Elliot/my OC is not a special snowflake. Some others are reborn in other worlds as well (with their memories intact), but tbh our weeb population is such a tiny percentage that it's unlikely they'll know the future of that world.** **Eh. I wanted to try something like that, instead of delving into the whole "some goddess of fate put me here" explanation that many other OC stories use. :/**

 ***continues throwing hints about Elliot's past at you through Alex, the adorable ray of sunshine***

 **(Also, I don't want to include too many OCs, so that's why you're getting so much Lynn lmao. There'll be a smaaaall timeskip after this to the end of Yamuraiha's first year at Magnoshutatt mainly because you don't want to wait a gazillion years till action and canon characters, amirite?)**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading! :D And feel free to PM me with questions or whatever you'd like to discuss lololol.**

 **edit: Oh, forgot to mention I started an OC fanfic recommendation blog! I only recommend the best of the best lmao, so check it out on my profile if you'd like! I assume you all like OC stories lololol.**


	17. Chapter 15

**A/N: Last night, I tried updating the story but it failed and somehow kept replacing last chapters instead. Hopefully this work. :/ Sorry if you got multiple notifications!**

* * *

 _Alex was sifting through newspapers in the library when he felt a hand ruffle his ginger hair, an action that he hadn't felt for a long time. For a moment, the ginger stiffened, and then he turned around to face said figure. "Is that you, Clara?" He asked, and although he tried to mask the disbelieving tone in his voice, he guessed he didn't do as well as he hoped, for her saw a flash of hurt in the girl's eyes for a moment._

 _She crossed her hands over her chest, scoffing, "Of course it's me, Alex. Who else would it be?"_

" _Nobody else would ever try doing something so out of the social norm," Yao added dryly, and Alex's eyes slid over to see his raven haired friend. His Chinese friend was hovering a few feet away from the two, almost unsure if he should ruin the moment or not. Alex rolled his eyes, grabbing Yao by the arm and pulling him into the group._

" _Aren't you two supposed to be at the...funeral, right now?"_

" _Aren't you?" Yao returned evenly, and for a moment, there was silence. Then, all of them simultaneously burst into laughter. Alex's heart felt almost light, and it was almost as if they were back in high school all over again. And any moment now, El would've come strolling into the room and...and…_

 _His laughter died in his throat. "Well, what are you guys doing here?"_

" _Helping you, obviously," Clara nudged him to the side. "We loved El just as much as you did. Well, err...maybe not as_ much," _Alex could hear the half smirk in her voice, although there was a small tremble when she enunciated their friend's name, "but enough. We want answers too. Whatcha' looking at?"_

" _We're here to help you," Yao summarized. "Weren't you the one who was always spouting out cheesy lines about teamwork?"_

" _Guys…" The words almost caught in Alex's throat, and he let out a half-laugh, half-sob. "You're so stupid." They waited for his laughter (tears?) to stop, and once Alex regained his composure, he pointed. "Newspaper articles," he said in a low voice. "I'm looking into her Dad's death."_

" _He shot himself after that scandal, right?" Clara leaned over Alex's shoulder to scan the article. "The media really blew up the event, but I never really watched the news. What happened?"_

 _Yao cleared his throat to answer. He had always been the nerd of the group, although his rather handsome appearance still made him fairly popular in their high school years. It was no surprise that he knew stuff: Alex was sure that off of the top of his head, Yao could probably list more information than Alex (despite him researching about it for the past hour). "Elliot's Dad was charged for corruption. They discovered that he spent a large portion of government funding on his own project, although that's just what the media told us. Elliot...El talked to me, once. She said that he was dealing with several shady figures, like drug dealers."_

 _Alex raised his eyebrows for a moment. El had never talked to him about that, but he wasn't surprised. Yao had probably asked the female about the incident (he always lacked tact when it came to social stuff back in high school), while Alex had tried to avoid the subject altogether in an attempt to cheer her up. Picking up from where his friend left off, he explained, "The housekeeper discovered his body at six in the morning, on a Saturday. But they believe he died sometime in the evening on Friday. He was found with a pistol in hand and a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his head."_

" _Gruesome. El was with us on that day, right?" Clara recalled. "But she went home later. Did she...did she see the body?"_

" _That was the one time I convinced her to go to karaoke with us," Alex confirmed with a small smile that quickly disappeared. "But...yeah. I think that the housekeeper fainted or something, so El had to be the one to call the police."_

" _That's horrible," Clara shook her head, biting her lip. The woman sat down beside him, with Yao seating himself to the girl's right. "But still, that's a start. Let's try it."_

* * *

A year. Nicholas Alexander Dunbar of the Musta'sim Kingdom was not pleased. It had been _a year_ (and a half, to be more accurate) since Yamuraiha had left, a year without her pesky rambling, a year in which he was left _dealing with her annoying friends by herself_. The green haired prince stalked down one of the hallways of the palace, scowling. When he saw golden hair, Nicholas immediately tried to turn around and head the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the young woman had caught notice of him before he could get out of sight.

"My Prince, do you know if Yamu is coming back anytime soon?" The attendant girl, Mira if he was not mistaken, asked pleadingly. Nicholas resisted the urge to groan and hide himself back in the security of his office. Turning to face the woman, he gave her a long stare. The woman immediately flushed, stammering, "I...I'm awfully sorry for being so informal with you, my Prince. My deepest apologies."

"It's fine," Nicholas sighed, shoulder slacking as he waved off her apology. "But I'm afraid that Raiha won't be returning any time soon. She still has much to do...and learn, in Magnoshutatt. But I assure you that she is still safe. We received her last correspondence a few weeks ago."

"Ah, I see…" Nicholas could see the disappointment in the woman's eyes, her dejected face mirroring that of Dunya's whenever his sister asked of Raiha's return.

Nicholas cleared his throat gruffly. "She'll return. She's worried about all of you. That pesky girl is always like that. And she'll be fine, she's resourceful enough."

"My Prince…" He could see the smallest smile tug at her lips, and before he knew it, the woman was ruffling his hair. "You're a good kid."

He blinked in surprise at her sudden action. The servant woman's jaw dropped as she realized what she had just done, and immediately the golden haired woman leapt back several feet, waving her hands frantically in the air.

"O-oh, I'm so sorry for saying that! I'm just so used to acting as the elder sister to everyone that it was somewhat instinctive! It was just so cute how you were worrying about Yamu...I mean, I...err…"

Nicholas could see why Raiha was fond of the attendant. She had a charming personality, if not a bit annoying and scatterbrained at times. She almost reminded Nicholas of Dunya, in a way. "Your name is Mira, correct?"

"Ah, yes." The woman seemed surprised that he would remember such a small detail.

"Raiha spoke of you often," he explained.

"Is that so?" Mira looked somewhat confused at this change in the conversation.

"Although she wasn't supposed to, she scribbled a little sentence in the margin of her letter last time. Something along the lines of ' _have Mira and Histok hooked up yet?'_ along with a threat if you haven't." Nicholas watched amusedly as the attendant turned a furious shade of red and stammered nonsense. He could see why Raiha found it interesting to mess with other people: their reactions were interesting to an extent. "Anyways," he said briskly, interrupting her tirade, "I must return to my quarters. Paperwork waits for no one."

He turned around to leave, but before he could, Mira called out, "My Prince!"

Nicholas paused in his steps.

"If...If you ever need some time to relax, please feel free to come by our quarters! Regina has been missing having younger ones around. I...I respect and admire you for your conviction to help our country prosper, but please take care of yourself."

Nicholas was completely still. He started walking again, and he could hear a disappointed sigh behind him. "I'll drop by sometime," he said quietly, and judging by the sudden cry of delight from the woman, he supposed she heard him.

* * *

" _Elliot, Elliot...where are you? Come out, now..."_

Yamuraiha woke up with a start, hands gripping tightly on the covers of her bed as she breathed heavily. Blinking for a few moments, she took in her surroundings. It was still dark in the room, and she could hear Alyasa's heavy breathing from the bed beside her. Moonlight shone through the satin curtains that covered the window, and she could tell that it was still nighttime.

"Ah…" she mumbled, hands grasping desperately at her throat, willing herself to breathe. After a few moments, her heartbeat slowed down to a normal pace, her breathing steady once more. Yamuraiha closed her eyes for a moment, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Then, her eyes snapped open, narrowing.

Growling, she threw the covers off, wiping the sweat off of her forehead. She was acting like a bumbling, angsty _teenager._ Scratch that, Yamuraiha still wasn't even a teenager (physically) yet. Yamuraiha slipped out of bed, taking one glance at Alyasa to make sure she didn't disturb her roommate before grabbing her staff and exiting the room.

Storming down the hallway and barely even thinking as she summoned Wind Magic to lower herself down into the courtyard, she squeezed her eyes shut and kicked at the ground fiercely. Yamuraiha hardly noticed herself walking past the entrance of the dormitories, stepping on a small bridge and pausing.

Unconsciously, her hands clutched the railing of the bridge tightly as she stared down below, where she could see the flickering lights of shops and bazaars. It was somewhat surprising that some of them were still open, but then again, adult magicians or those of high caliber didn't have a curfew like the Academy students did. She was sure there were some bars down there that would still be crowded.

Melancholically, she glanced down at her hands, idly noting that they were still trembling. A scowl forming on her face, she slammed her fist against the bridge railing.

 _Why was she so weak?_

She thought she was past this. She thought she was done with the nightmares, the regret, the shame, the hopelessness...

" _Hey, El…"_

" _Mm?"_

" _Are you..."_

"...alright?" A familiar voice asked from behind her.

She jerked upwards, her eyes widening as she whipped around. "What did you say?"

* * *

Lynn had been returning to the dorms after practicing some of the new spells they had learned during the day when he saw a certain tealette literally lower herself into the courtyard with Wind Magic. He opened his mouth to call out to her, but before he could say anything, the tealette rushed past him. It was almost as if she hadn't noticed his presence at all. Lynn lingered in front of the entrance of the dormitories, staring at them longingly for a moment, before turning to see the girl on a bridge.

Sighing, he inwardly grumbled to himself. _The things I do._

Taking quick strides, he called out in a somewhat somber voice, "Hey, Raiha...are you alright?" His hand reached out to grab her shoulder when it seemed as if she wasn't listening to him, but something about his question seemed to trigger the girl to look up.

"...what did you say?" The tealette whispered, and for a moment, Lynn wasn't sure how to respond.

"I asked if you were alright," Lynn repeated, eyes scanning her expression for some kind of emotion. As if Raiha had noticed his probing eyes, the girl quickly looked down at her feet, her hair shielding her face from sight. He explained, noting that the girl was looking at her again with a rather empty expression, "I saw you sneaking out of the dormitories looking rather...frightened."

Lynn was going to use the word 'haunted', but abruptly stopped himself when he saw _that_ look on her face. It was a look that he had seen too many times in the mirror after fitful nights of sleep. Before he knew it, the question slipped out of his mouth again. "Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Raiha raised her eyebrows challengingly, but Lynn wasn't going to let her deflection detract from his task at hand.

"You're the kind to bottle up everything without telling anyone," Lynn explained, shoving his hands into his robe pockets awkwardly. "I'm usually the same way. At least, that's what everyone else tells me. You know...If you ever need to talk...Sera and I are here."

"Why are you sounding like such a sap?" She rolled her eyes, but there was something about her posture that relaxed just a bit more. "I swear, at nighttime, it feels as if you're not as shitty of a person. Do you make it a habit to act like an asshole during the day, and concerned friend by night?"

Lynn scowled, any concern for the tealette evaporating immediately at her words. "Well, sorry, but in case you haven't noticed, _you_ provoke me a lot. It's not like _you're_ a particularly mature individual, either."

"I'm ten years old," Raiha shrugged, but there was something about his statement that must have ticked off the girl. "Besides, that's sort of how we get along...right? Most friends argue in their spare time."

"You have a weird definition of 'friends'," Lynn scoffed, but he could feel himself relaxing as well. "Weren't you the one to declare us 'rivals' on the second day of class?"

" _You scored better than me on the world history test_ ," Raiha hissed, sounding highly offended and miffed. Crossing her arms, she huffed irritatedly. "Do you understand how shameful that is for me?"

"You're ten," Lynn deadpanned, throwing her words back at her.

"And you're a kid, too," Raiha pointed out, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I missed a question about the Reim Empire, of all things to get wrong."

"You lived in Musta'sim, a place where most information about the outside world was either biased or simply not released to the general public," Lynn said in a flat voice. "I'm surprised you actually knew _anything_ about the Reim Empire, considering the rumors I've heard about Musta'sim."

"Besides the point." She rolled her eyes, waving aside his statement. "I have to be better than this...I need to…"

"Any particular reason for you 'needing to be better'?" Lynn quoted, watching her back stiffen for a second before she relaxed again.

"Lots of reasons," the tealette answered vaguely, shrugging. Lynn's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing. Raiha continued, "I want to grow strong enough that I don't have to rely on other people. I want to be able to go down to the other levels of Magnoshutatt. I want to be _the best._ You're the same, aren't you?"

"So ambitious," Lynn snickered, but her words hit too close for comfort, and he quickly fell silent. Thoughtfully, he added, "You know, if you want to try visiting the other levels of Magnoshutatt, you could try requesting a meeting with Lord Mogamett."

"And how," Raiha cut in sourly, "am I supposed to do that?"

Lynn raised his eyebrows in faint surprise. "I thought you would've known by now. We're almost halfway through our second year, and when we reach midterms, Lord Mogamett himself meets with every single magician in the second year to determine what path they'll be aiming for in the future, and whether or not they might have particularly specialized skillsets that could be put of use elsewhere."

"Ah, Shinya mentioned it once," Raiha muttered, evoking the name of the brown haired healer who the tealette visited often (no thanks to her recklessness). "She said that she was put into specialized healing classes because of that."

"Well, there's your chance." Lynn shrugged, looking nonplussed. "But if you're going to try asking him, you might as well throw in a word for me, too. Visiting the other floors sounds interesting. On the other hand, if he doesn't want to let you go, _I told you nothing._ "

"Riiiiight," Raiha drawled. "Well, I'm heading back up to sleep. You should return to your room too, Princess. You need your beauty sleep." The teal haired girl snickered at Lynn's scandalized expression.

"Why do I even bother?" Lynn grumbled under his breath, whipping around and marching back into the dormitories. He heard her chuckling behind him.

 _Well,_ his mind whispered traitorously, _at least she's feeling better._

* * *

Yamuraiha sat on a rather uncomfortable wooden chair, her legs crossed. Her eyes observed the room of Academy students, the numbers slowly dwindling as each person was called into a single office. She assumed that whenever the meeting was finished, they probably exited through a different door, for nobody had returned.

There was a scarce number of people in the room by now: the instructors had been calling in people by last name, and since Yamuraiha simply listed herself as "Raiha" when entering the Academy. Everybody she knew had already left the room, and the only people that were left were a timid looking boy and a silent old man.

The door of the office swung open, and a head popped out. She recognized the figure as Feiste, her interrogator when she had first entered the Academy. "Raiha, come in."

Calmly and calculatively, she rose almost lethargically. Taking confident strides forward, she entered the office, hearing Feiste shut the door behind her. Yamuraiha's eyes scanned the room for a moment. Her eyebrows raised in slight surprise. Contrary to her prior hypothesis, the room _wasn't_ an office. In fact, she recognized the scene from the original Magi series: it was where Aladdin and Mogamett had conversed before ( _about canon Yamuraiha, if she recalled correctly)_.

In typical Arabian fashion, the walls of the room were large, domineering arches, with pillars spaced out every two feet or so. She could see the sun setting from her position at the entrance of the room, and Yamuraiha spotted the back of an old man facing her. Eyes sliding to the right, she realized there was an empty chair sitting across a glass table from the man.

Ensuring that she still kept her steady, collected pace, Yamuraiha strolled forward. "Lord Mogamett, it is an honor," she murmured demurely, bowing her head as she faced his back.

"Take a seat."

Almost cautiously, Yamuraiha sat down. She happened to glance at Mogamett, but the old man was focused on the chessboard in front of him. She stayed silent as the man moved a white pawn forward and murmured something to himself. Yamuraiha tried not to fidget, summoning her patience and maturity from her past life. (Although it was debatable if she ever possessed such in the first place.)

The man stroked his beard before moving one of the black pawns forward.

"Do you play chess?" His voice suddenly sounded out. Almost casually, Mogamett moved a white knight to the right. Yamuraiha almost jumped at the sudden voice, but stopped herself just in time.

"I do," she confirmed, eyes making a cursory scan of the board before nudging a black bishop several spots to the left. "Check."

Mogamett's voice sounded almost pleased. "Smart move."

Then, he moved his rook. "But too obvious. Checkmate."

Yamuraiha blinked for a moment in surprise before throwing her head up and laughing. It felt good to laugh like that: something in her chest seemed to buoy at the sound. "That was a good move," she admitted. "I didn't even see it."

"Sometimes, the most obvious moves are the hardest to find," Mogamett replied, his eyes finally looking up from the chess board. There was something that flickered in his eyes before he asked, "Child, what is your name?"

"My name?" Yamuraiha repeated, taken aback slightly. Immediately, she was back on her guard. "It's Raiha."

"Names hold power," Mogamett commented vaguely, the statement resounding in the room. Yamuraiha nodded her head in acknowledgment: _that_ had been a sentiment echoed by far too many individuals in the past. At the same time, she couldn't help but see the subject from a different view at the same time.

"But at the same time, although names can identify _who_ you are, they can't identify _what_ you are. _A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,"_ Yamuraiha quoted, although she knew that the man wouldn't get the reference. Shakespeare, luckily enough for the youths of the world, and his literary works were not present in this Magi world. On the other hand, the Magi world ( _in particular, Magnoshutatt_ ) seemed to be quite advanced in magic in an innovative way that faintly reminded Yamuraiha of the flourishing of European science in the Islamic world. Back in the eighth century, if she recalled correctly.

(Yamuraiha had always secretly been a dork when it came to history.)

"Names are only powerful if we give them power," she summarized, feeling almost as if she was infringing on some kind of copyright of a sorts. Maybe Harry Potter? "But as fascinating as this tangent is, sir, I doubt that I'm here just to discuss the importance of nomenclature with you."

"True enough." Mogamett hummed absentmindedly, and Yamuraiha had to mentally stop herself from twitching. Resetting the board, he motioned for her to pick a side. Immediately, Yamuraiha flipped the board around so that she would play the white chess pieces. It was always more advantageous to have the first move. As they began another game, he murmured, "Your playing style reminds me of someone from my past."

Yamuraiha stayed silent as the two continued to play. After another few minutes of silence and deep, rational thoughts, the silence was broken.

"Brash, somewhat hasty in making decisions, and stubbornly determined to not sacrifice any pieces if possible," Mogamett declared of her playing style. "You have to learn how to let go of your pieces sometimes, for the better good."

Yamuraiha shrugged, moving her bishop. "I don't want to."

"Is that so?" A smile curled up on Mogamett's lips at that answer. "That's what my friend said, back in the day as well…"

"Your friend sounds like an admirable person, Lord Mogamett," Yamuraiha responded automatically. Although her tone was diplomatically placid, there was a ring of sincerity in the statement that the man must've caught, for the smile on his face seemed to grow.

"Ah, one more tip…" Mogamett said thoughtfully, before pushing his pawn forward. "Your greatest flaws is that you tend to focus more on the more powerful pieces. Even a pawn can become extremely powerful, given the circumstances."

Yamuraiha stared at the board in disbelief for a moment before she glanced up.

"Checkmate," Mogamett proclaimed smoothly. "I believe I have made quite a lengthy evaluation of you, now, Miss Raiha. You're quite an interesting little girl: so young, yet you act extremely old and mature for your age."

"You're too kind, my Lord Mogamett," Yamuraiha bowed her head.

"You wish for something." It was not a question, and his spot-on perception was almost frightening. This man was not somebody to trifle with.

A smirk curled up on her lips. "You are very perceptive, Lord Mogamett. If I may be blunt, I do wish something of you. If I may humbly proceed to ask you a favor…?" At the man's nod, Yamuraiha cleared her throat. _Now or never._ "I wish to explore some of the other levels of Magnoshutatt. Obviously, I'm not asking for you to allow me access into your personal chambers 24/7, but I think that it'd be a good experience for me to interact with other people. The Academy, as lovely as it is, can be a bit stifling for a mind...a child like me."

"Usually, when students ask me for favors, they are hardly as direct as you. Nor do they ask anything too out of the norm, but you're quite different," Mogamett observed. "Most ask for a streamlined course towards whichever specialization that such individuals are interested in."

"I don't really know what I want to specialize in," Yamuraiha admitted. "Although finding other ways to improve living conditions with magic sound interesting. I think that our agricultural production can be improved if we incorporated Water Magic into our irrigation systems. But at the same time, I think that magic's future rests in magical items."

Mogamett made a small noise of acknowledgment. "Well," he said carefully, after a few moments of pause, "I believe that it would be beneficial for talented students like you to familiarize yourself with Magnoshutatt more. However, you're still on our watch list, young Raiha."

Yamuraiha inwardly cursed.

"...but, if you're able to find one of our higher level magicians to accompany you, I suppose you can visit some of the floors after classes are over," Mogamett finished, his eyes softening just a fraction. Yamuraiha was honestly unsure why the old man was being so lenient with her, but she shrugged it off as Mogamett being the same magician-loving person he was in canon. "Is that a deal?"

"Y-yes, Lord Mogamett, thank you very much!" Yamuraiha stood up and bowed, but she still felt his pressing gaze on her. "Is there something the matter, my Lord?"

"You want something else."

"Ah, um…" Yamuraiha laughed nervously, scratching her cheek. Before she could lose her bravado, she blurted out, "May I bring along a few friends? They're also in the Academy, and they'll probably hold a grudge against me for _ever_ if I don't bring them along."

"I assume you are speaking of the young Sera and Lynn?" Mogamett observed her critically. "And maybe your roommate as well."

"I...uh...yes." Her confusion must have shown on her face, for a wry smile spread on Mogamett's face as he gave her a somewhat amused expression. His eyes were twinkling with the slightest glint of mirth.

"Teachers talk amongst each other, Raiha. It's not too hard to know about your acquaintances when Edith is always complaining about two belligerent students, not to mention Shinya loves to complain about how you all keep coming to her for healing after spars. Your friends are all quite talented, yet so young as well. I met with them earlier," Mogamett explained. "Both Lynn and Sera requested for permission to attend multiple Zemis, and although I told them that it was too much for them, I _did_ recommend them to a few instructors. Young Alyasa, on the other hand, asked for permission to learn especially from Shinya."

Yamuraiha's eyebrows raised in surprise as she mentally filed that information away for later. "I see, Lord Mogamett."

"They may come along, but only if you all stay as a group with an instructor," Mogamett instructed. "Now, I'm afraid that we've run out of time. There's still a few other students waiting for my counsel."

"Thank you, Lord Mogamett," Yamuraiha repeated for what must have been the umpteenth time. She lowered her head in respect as he dismissed her. Exiting the room through another door, Yamuraiha waited for the door to close before letting out a cheer of victory and pumping her fist in the air.

Score! This would be a piece of cake: Yamuraiha knew she could definitely convince Erik to accompany them, so the instructor requirement wasn't a real worry for her. She'd have to hurry back to the dorms to inform everyone else. Humming a tune under her breath, the tealette turned to the direction of the doors and began to walk off.

.

In her reverie, the tealette didn't notice somebody else watching from the shadows.

 _After all, even if they didn't know the whole truth, Al-Tharmen was watching. Al-Tharmen was_ always _watching._

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry I'm trash, this chapter is trash, I don't know what I'm doing.**

 **AP testing this and next week, yet somehow (and for some reason) I publishing this. Fwah. Suffering from sleep deprivation LMAO (thank you, school). It feels strange to use exclamation points in my writing now lmao ( _realizes how deadpan Raiha is)_.**

 **My Aoko!OC (Detective Conan/Magic Kaito) story was published lol and I ican't believe how many of you already jumped on board thaaaat one. (Expect an update very soon.)**

 **Thank you so much, as always, for reviewing/favorite-ing/following/reading! I say this every chapter, but all of you guys' thoughtfulness really does brighten my day. :)**

 **I've probably left out some important details in this Author's Note that I'll remember later lmao but whatever~**

 **THANKS FOR READING :D LOVE YOU ALL!**


	18. Chapter 16

" _El's mother committed suicide a few months after, right?" Clara's voice resounded in the library as she continued sifting through news articles._

" _She_ tried _to commit suicide," Alex corrected, staring at the blinking cursor in front of him. Grinning, he spun around in his chair and pointed at the computer screen triumphantly. He had been digging for a certain piece of information for the past half hour, and after several fruitless attempts, had finally stumbled upon it. He explained, "They moved her to a mental institute after that. The address was never revealed to the public, but El once brought me there for one of her visits, and I think I found the right place."_

 _Yao peered over his shoulder. "That's a few hours away from here," he said after a few mental calculations. Alex bit back a grin at the comment: as always, Yao always knew what he was doing. "Visiting hours will probably be over if we tried to get there today, but if you two are up for it, we can drive there tomorrow."_

" _Best lead we've gotten so far," Clara agreed, leaning back in her chair and yawning. "El never liked talking about her home life, and maybe we can get some answers. There's nothing important that I have going on tomorrow...not compared to this."_

" _It's decided, then?" Alex surmised, fist-bumping his female friend and turning to Yao. "Unless you have something else to do."_

 _The light atmosphere shifted for a moment as both gingers stared at the Asian male, seemingly ruminating through his thoughts. Unknowingly, Clara was biting on her bottom lip, a gesture that she usually did whenever she was nervous. Alex caught the gesture and understood her anxiety: doing it without their friend would be..._ weird _, for the lack of a better word._

" _For the past few months...I had ignored all of you for the sake of my studies," Yao said quietly. "And then this happened. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice."_

 _Alex's eyes dimmed for a moment before he slung a hand casually over his friend's shoulder. Bittersweet warmth filled his chest as his eyes trailed upwards. When was the last time that the three of them actually talked like this? This...this kind of thing was what El probably wanted. "Well, captain, welcome aboard! Great to have you back."_

* * *

"You earned us _access to the other levels?"_ Sera squeaked, his voice nearly raising an octave as he took in Yamuraiha's glowing expression and the smug smirk on her face. Studying the tealette for a few moments, he determined that she must've been telling the truth. Shoulders slacking, he sighed and murmured, "I shouldn't even be surprised, anymore."

The white haired youth looked rather comfortable in his black magician's robes. Gone was the shy, quiet persona Sera adopted when first coming to Magnoshutatt. Instead, he had taken to acting as the responsible voice of their small group of friends (if she could even label them such). Then again, Sera would still occasionally abandon reason to go on one of his verbose, fantastic spiels about the science behind various magical items and spells.

Yamuraiha frowned when she realized she had to slightly tilt her head to look her friend in the eye. He and Lynn had both begun to hit their growth spurts, and although the blonde prominently towered over all of them, Sera was already two inches taller than Yamuraiha. Damn it. She had always been rather tall for females her age back in her past life, and having to look up to talk to everybody was somewhat humiliating.

"Well, technically we'd have to get an instructor to come along with us. But I've been talking with Shinya, and she told me some _interesting_ stories about Erik that I can surely use to blackmail him to come along," Yamuraiha fibbed. In truth, she and the olive eyed magician were probably close enough for Erik to help them with _or_ without blackmail material. None of her friends knew of her alliance with the instructor, however. After a heated discussion, Erik and Yamuraiha had come to the conclusion that they should keep public contact to a minimum in case Al Tharmen was monitoring either of them.

Then again, she actually _did_ possess said blackmail material. Maybe she _could_ put those stories to use sometime...

She pushed away her slightly evil schemes for the moment and instead refocused on the conversation at hand. Her eyes darted from side to side as she observed Lynn, who had stayed remarkably silent throughout her explanation.

Standing behind Sera, Lynn shifted the weight of his body from his left foot to his right. Although his perpetual scowl was still present on his face, his demeanor and general expression had softened over time thanks to prolonged contact with Sera and Yamuraiha. What had been nothing more than initial hostility between her and the blonde quickly developed into what others could only call a "rivalry", in which their classmates placed bets every test to see which of the two would best the other. And to her frustration, Yamuraiha _knew_ she was losing to him.

In all fairness, Lynn _did_ have more experience than her (even if the blonde had never really formally been educated in the way they were at Magnoshutatt). But Yamuraiha had a sneaking suspicion that if she didn't have her matured mindset and previous life's experience, she would've lost to him even if she _had_ been practicing longer. Lynn, although she would never admit it to his face, was a prodigy when it came to magic. And as irritating as that fact could be sometimes, Yamuraiha grudgingly accepted the fact that having an intellectual equal that was a youth was definitely stimulating. Her work ethic had nearly doubled as she threw herself into her studies to surpass him.

"All of those new places to explore," Lynn whispered reverently, shaking her out of her stupor. Without even meaning to, the words slipped out of his lips. "Raiha, sometimes I just love you." Blinking, he sputtered, "I...I mean...well...err…"

Although she _could_ have let Lynn stutter awkwardly like an idiot, she only allowed for a small, wry grin to belie her amusement before she gave him a way out.

"I know," Yamuraiha sniffed arrogantly, performing an expert haughty hairflip that she was only capable of doing after numerous attempts of mimicking Alyasa. Lynn immediately relaxed and sent her a similar smirk, regaining his composure. Her arrogance melted as instead she sent them a warm grin, anticipation dancing in her eyes. "This is going to be _so_ great."

"You _nerd_ ," Alyasa snapped. Despite her condescending tone, Alyasa's voice lacked the usual venom she had when speaking to the tealette. Rolling her eyes, the brunette said sourly, "As much as I appreciate the gesture, which I _certainly do not_...I know by now that whenever you do something, there's bound to be trouble. I still don't know how you manage to stir up so much trouble in so little time, but I'm going to be studying Healing Magic with Shinya, and she's going to kill me if I stir up a fuss."

"I am _not_ a trouble magnet," Yamuraiha protested weakly. She was immediately sent three withering looks.

Sera adopted a deadpan expression. "You blew up one of the fountains in the _middle of the night_ just last week. If I might add, you did so _after curfew_ , too."

"You _also_ taunted and provoked several of our upperclassmen in our _first year_ , causing Lord Mogamett to reprimand the entire Academy for unruly behavior," Lynn hissed in a somewhat mortified voice. (For her sake or for his, she wasn't too sure. Lynn had gotten reprimanded that year also, after lighting one fourth year's ass on fire after they made some crude remark. Actually, _everyone_ had gotten in on the action, to the point that Yamuraiha was surprised that the chaos hadn't evolved into a civil war. Or whatever the school equivalent of such was.)

"I only provoked them because I caught a third year bullying one of the Group B kids," Yamuraiha protested.

"Goody two-shoes, aren't you?" Sera's smile grew a tad bit wider. If it had been anyone else, the comment probably would've been taken as an insult. But Yamuraiha knew that her white haired friend was much too benevolent to say anything of the sort.

"Helluva no, she's not _that_ self righteous." Lynn waved aside the comment. Yamuraiha twitched, despite knowing that what the blonde declared was definitely the truth. She definitely wasn't kind hearted enough to throw herself into a bunch of drama without an ulterior motive.

"The warrior of justice image just helps boost my popularity with the teachers and students," Yamuraiha admitted shamelessly, agreeing with the blonde with a nod. "It makes it easier for me to ask for favors later." Not to mention she had been _itching_ to pummel some of their upperclassmen to the ground after being taunted for ages because of her age (and height). Although she hadn't emerged from the "First Year War", as her classmates had dubbed it, unscathed, she knew that most second years and even some third and fourth years definitely came out just as battered as her. (She considered _that_ a small victory. Not only that, but the increase in bullying/hostile confrontations allowed for the rest of her year to flourish in their combat abilities as well.

"You just like to revel in the attention," Alyasa said flatly. The brunette knew Yamuraiha's nature _way_ too well for her liking, in all honesty. Yamuraiha guessed that such insights were just a package with being roommates for more than a year.

"That too," Yamuraiha agreed thoughtfully after a moment of consideration. "Being rather flamboyant helps people remember you. If I didn't pull any stunts, I'd just be another nobody in the crowd."

"Assuming, of course," Lynn cut in, "that everyone ignores the fact that you're a tealette, are one of the youngest magicians in the Academy, and are in Group A?"

"Of course," Yamuraiha said amiably, easily playing along and maintaining the lighthearted atmosphere. "Have you _seen_ the people of this world? Teal hair is _nothing_ when you're standing next to a scarlet haired Fanalis literally half a foot taller than you."

"Nobody in this Academy's even a Fanalis, though, so why does that matter?" Alyasa deadpanned.

"Well, it _is_ true that between all of the countries of the world, there's a very wide spectrum of hair colors," Sera mused. "Maybe I should research that in my spare time. There's not many teal haired people in the world, although I _have_ read that some Imuchakks have teal hair. Like Hinahoho from Sinbad's tales. Your hair is very unique, Raiha."

Yamuraiha resisted the urge to flinch at her friend's invocation of _two_ canon character's names in the same sentence. "Says the albino," she managed to reply without giving away how much those two names affected her.

"Maybe I have some Heliohapt blood? There's plenty of white haired people there, I heard. Lynn, where does _your_ hair come from?" Sera asked absentmindedly, adopting the look he usually got whenever he had a fascinating topic to research.

"Born in Reim, raised in Parthevia." Lynn shrugged. "You tell _me_."

"They're both much too large for me to pinpoint common features," Sera moaned. "And Alyasa's brown hair is almost a dime a dozen in the countries surrounding Magnoshutatt." Out of curiosity, Sera tilted his head and asked, "Do most people in Musta'sim have teal hair?"

"Well, you've got to understand that Magnoshutatt itself was created _from_ former Musta'sim citizens," Yamuraiha drawled. "The royal family all have green hair. Light green, not some kind of forest green like what I've heard about the Parthevian royal family. But the servants I've met all looked different."

Sera deflated. "This topic is impossible."

"Well, if you have time, maybe you can research trends regarding magic type?" Lynn suggested. "It's much more feasible to research, considering where we are."

Sera perked up immediately, snapping his fingers. "Ah, that's a brilliant idea, Lynn! I can survey magicians about their type and home country. Alyasa, your family has several generations of magicians, correct?"

"...yes?" Alyasa answered slowly, her face looking slightly bewildered by the sudden pivot the conversation had taken. Unlike the other three, the brunette wasn't as invested into new research and development: _she_ enjoyed learning things more hands-on, which was probably why the brunette signed up for healing.

"Then we can even survey you and some other magician families and see if it's genetic!" Sera beamed, easily summoning a gust of wind to lift himself. He hovered above the ground for only a second before he was taking off into the sky, calling, "Come on! Your dad should be finished by now since exams ended an hour ago. Let's go ask him!"

"I...uh...wait... _Sera_!" Alyasa sputtered, stomping her foot in protest. The action didn't help at all: the white haired magician already zooming off towards one of the large buildings in the Academy. Over the course of their first year, Alyasa had finally softened from her "Sera is a boring nerd" stance. As two of the top students in Group B, the two eventually got over their differences to an extent. Thanks to Yamuraiha's pep talk, Alyasa treated the three of them in general with a little more respect. Although Alyasa usually hung out with her own friend group of giggling female magicians, she would occasionally drop by the three of them and hang out whenever she was available. The brunette turned to face Lynn and Yamuraiha sourly. "I don't suppose you'll do me a favor and drag him down to one of the lower levels with you two?" She pleaded halfheartedly.

Lynn shook his head, sending a dry look in the direction where Sera took off. "When Sera gets an idea in his head, he won't stop until he has a thirty page report on said topic."

"Good luck," Yamuraiha added for good measure.

Alyasa moaned, muttering something about how her hair was going to be ruined before snatching her Magic Turban from a bag at her side and unraveling it, revealing a floating magic carpet. With one last deadly glare at the two, she flew off in the direction where Sera left.

"I still don't understand how you managed to get her to chill out," Lynn said thoughtfully after a few moments of silence.

"Just like how Sera and I got _you_ to get that stick out of your ass?" Yamuraiha replied sweetly.

"Oh, _shut up."_

"Anyways, want to try heading to another district? We have an opportunity that most _second level citizens_ don't get," Yamuraiha offered, her voice sounding a little miffed at the reminder that _no, she was not a first class citizen._ That honor only went to "high level magicians".

"If you can get us an escort," Lynn replied, gazing at the Sun for a moment before nodding. He must have deemed their amount of time before curfew satisfactory enough.

It was times like these where Yamuraiha wished that magic in the Magi world worked like Harry Potter. It was easy enough to wave her wand (or staff, in this case) and say something like " _Accio Erik_ ", but spells in Magi were _never_ that simple. She had to command the Rukh to do things, and _understand_ it. A simple incantation wouldn't be enough to do anything.

Instead, she sucked in a deep breath and turned in the direction of Erik's nondescript lab area, using Sound Magic to enhance her voice. " _ERIK, I WILL SPREAD STORIES OF YOU AND YOUR CHILDHOOD CRUSH ON A CERTAIN TEACHER IF YOU DON'T—"_

Three seconds later, she could spot a quickly approaching figure on a magic carpet. She couldn't keep the smug look off of her face as Lynn simply _stared_ , stupefied, as Erik glared daggers at the petite tealette. "What is it _this_ time, your _Royal Highness_?"

Pretending she didn't notice the sarcasm literally _oozing_ from the older man's words, she took a moment to bask in the feeling of _power_ that washed over her before snapping back to business. "You are going to take us to…" Yamuraiha abruptly halted in her command. What District _should_ they see? Which was the one that held the most priority...at least, in Musta'sim's eyes? In a split second, she made her decision. The words rolled off of her tongue before she could stop them. "...the Fifth Level Authorization District."

"Am I?"

"Lord Mogamett allowed for us to go if we brought an escort," Lynn explained, slightly gritting his teeth. It sounded like he was resisting the urge to throttle Yamuraiha for her overly haughty tone. Not like she could blame him: in hindsight, pissing off their one ticket to their adventure was probably not the smartest idea. As diplomatically as he could, considering his irritated state, the blonde finished, "And we'd like for you to help us."

"Why—"

Yamuraiha hummed innocently, her smugness literally _radiating_ off her in waves.

"...damn it." Erik glowered at her. In subdued reluctance, he sighed and resigned himself to his fate. "Fine. When?"

"Now," Yamuraiha said casually, taking a page out of Alyasa's book and examining her nails nonchalantly.

"She-devil," Erik cursed, motioning for them to follow.

As they followed the raven haired man, Lynn spared a glance at the tealette. "You're _crazy._ "

"Getting him ticked off is the easiest way to get him to shut up quickly," Yamuraiha shrugged. "Got the job done, didn't I?"

"Still crazy."

"As are you."

"Touche."

* * *

They had barely made it into the Fifth District when a voice called out to them. "Bringing _children_ into this District now, Erik? I didn't know that Lord Mogamett started his indoctrination so soon."

Erik's frown now deepened into a scowl. "Otto. Were you waiting for my arrival, or do you just happen to be around enough so that you can piss me off whenever I come by?"

"Nah, I was off drinking. Being an adult is _liberating_ , man. My old man wouldn't let me drink until I reached of age, crazy ol' coot." A man, probably somewhere in his early twenties, stepped out from the shadows. In his left hand was a bottle of beer, and despite his ragged clothes, his eyes shone with a certain _light_ that made her know that she couldn't underestimate him. Instinctively, her eyes trailed the most prominent feature of the man's face: a long scar that stretched from the right side of his forehead to his left cheek.

The man noticed her stare. Wryly, he asked, "Never seen a scar before, sweetheart?"

"Nah," Yamuraiha choose her words carefully. She was going to go for an "I'm jealous of your hair", but instead settled for, "I like your hair."

Otto blinked, obviously taken aback as his hand unconsciously brushed his red locks back. Quickly enough, he regained his demeanor. "Well, kid's got spunk, I'll give you that. Better than how _you_ whimpered the first time you were here."

Lynn looked hardly captivated by the conversation, his eyes instead taking in the various sights of the district. Although it looked like a normal city, she knew that the blonde was talented enough to feel small bits of magoi leaking out of everyone's bodies. Not only that, he was _observant_ , and it only took him a few moments of scanning the broken expressions of people's faces and various bars where people were blatantly abusing alcohol and drugs before he turned to her. "What's going on in this District?" he asked her in a low tone of voice.

Her lips felt dry. Swallowing and licking her lips, the tealette replied in an equally quiet voice, "Where do you think all the power for our magical tools come from?"

She saw a flash of horror in Lynn's cerulean eyes before he skillfully masked it. If not for his slightly tense posture, Yamuraiha would've guessed that her words had no impact on him. Then again, she always knew the blonde was a softie. Instead of allowing the rather tense atmosphere between the two continue, Lynn instead turned his attention back to their chaperone and the man he was exchanging scowls with.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Erik? Or should we do it ourselves?" Lynn asked, folding his arms over his chest. Erik halted his silent glare contest with the red haired Goi, having the decency to at least look somewhat contrite.

With a superfluous gesture of his hand, Erik declared, "Raiha, Lynn, meet Otto. Otto, meet the banes of my existence."

"Charmed," Otto deadpanned. His eyes made a cursory sweep of their figures before taking in the black magician robes that made them stick out like a sore thumb amongst the Gois of the District. With an underlying question in his voice, he asked, "Academy students?"

"Blackmailed their way here."

"Not much to see here, anyways," Otto snorted. There was something about his demeanor that changed as soon as the statement left his mouth. Yamuraiha struggled to maintain her relaxed posture as she felt Lynn tense beside her at the sudden hostile vibes their host was emitting. His eyes darkened as he sneered, "Go home. We don't need you spoiled _Academy_ kids here, anyways."

"Otto." Erik's voice warned trouble, but the red head must've missed the frustration that leaked into the magician's voice.

"You're only going to cause us trouble. Then again, that's the only thing you magicians are good at, anyways—"

" _Otto,"_ Erik growled, his fists clenched into tight balls. "Shut up."

There was a moment of silence before Otto sighed, the wind seemingly knocked out of him. For a moment, Yamuraiha thought that the red haired man was going to punch Erik in the face. But instead, he gave Erik a half friendly nudge. Lynn and Yamuraiha both glanced at each other, trading incredulous looks. Yamuraiha had to fight to suspend the disbelief that trickled into her expression.

" _Fine_. If you kids want to see this place so much, I might as well give you a tour." Otto's arms extended outwards in a mocking gesture of invitation. Derision, along with a bit of frustration, rang clear in his baritone voice. "Welcome to Magnoshutatt's magoi factory." The red haired man paused for dramatic effect, scratching the back of his head. "Ah, wait...what did you guys call it again? Ah, right. The Fifth District."

* * *

They were following Otto through the District, suspicious gazes pinned on them, when Yamuraiha decided to slow down her pace to match Erik's. The instructor stared at her for a moment before raising his eyebrows, asking a silent question with his olive green eyes.

"How do you know him?" Yamuraiha questioned lowly. "I was under the impression that most magicians didn't come down here except for...disciplinary stuff."

"I was a stupid kid back in my second year in the Academy. Decided to go on an adventure." Erik snorted, seemingly laughing at his own stupidity. "Made friends with him somewhat after breaking a guy's teeth when he was about to get mugged. We met up a few more times after that, and even though he eventually figured out I was a magician, he didn't really care at the time. I told him about the outside world, promised to get him out, all that shit."

They walked together in silence for a few more moments as Yamuraiha waited patiently, not even turning to face Erik in the eyes.

"We liked going on adventures. Taunting drunks and running away was exhilarating, at the time. Liberating, for me. Then some of the magicians found me and they thought he was beating me up, with my ragged appearance and all."

Yamuraiha made a noncommittal sound of acknowledgment.

"It's my fault he has that scar," Erik finally said. "And although I know he's gotten...over it, somewhat, there's not much I can do to help. I come down for the occasional drink, every now and then. Incognito, of course."

There was a beat of silence.

"Shady guy," Yamuraiha snickered, breaking the tense atmosphere. She glanced upwards at Otto, who was engaged in some kind of "man to man" talk with Lynn about how the blonde should cut his ponytail. Suddenly, she viewed the man with a little more respect.

Sure, people said it took courage to help people. To befriend people.

Yamuraiha found that more than either of those, it took more courage to _forgive_ people.

* * *

 **Chapter Notes:**

 **1) oH MY GOSH. Thank you to _Miqila_ for alerting me, as I am absolute _trash_ when it comes to checking the raws, but _Yamuraiha has finally appeared in Sinbad no Bouken!_ Admittedly, she has only appeared in the Japanese raws. I'm definitely keeping up with them now (ahahaha my Japanese teacher would be proud) but I will now be _slowing down_ my writing pace (more than it already is) because I want for the most recent arc to end before I start writing it. The best part is that, thanks to checking ages and timelines, canon!Yamuraiha's appearance should be _this year._ So depending on how the manga plays out, you may be seeing Sinbad pretty soon in this story. However, I want to keep this story spoiler free. Thus, I'll be keeping with the English releases of Sinbad no Bouken, which means that it'll probably be even _slower_ haha. (Plus my Japanese is still trash anyways.) If Yamuraiha plays a crucial role in that arc, I really feel like I should try keeping with it (as it deals heavily with Serendine, and we know that shit is going to go _down_ probably haha and if this arc is skipped RIP OUR TIMELINE). Otherwise, if she doesn't really do anything except for her cute cameos and subtle Sharryamu moments, I'll probably change the plot and Raiha will be meeting Sinbad and co. in a muuuuuuch different scenario.**

 **2) Is the friendship thing going on between Raiha/Lynn/Sera/Alyasa the cutest thing or what omfg my babiessssssss**

 **3) Raiha is an absolute manipulative bitch and she doesn't care haha it's so cute**

 **4) I realized that the manga is absolutely screwing over my fanfiction plot so _I'm sorry what can I do_**

 **5) I have a special chapter I'll publish...er...sometime as I continue to buy time for SnB to progress. (Prepare your hearts, dear shippers.)**

 **6) Otto is a canon character. I might slip in more canon Magnoshutatt characters that you may recognize in future chapters.**

 **7) I lowkey stalked every single character in various countries to come up with the conclusion that _there aren't any trends in hair color between different countries and there is literally no way I can come up with the stereotypical appearance of citizens in each country._**

 **Other last minute notes...err, I have an OC fanfiction recommendation blog on tumblr! Link on my profile. It's superrrrr slow but every fanfic I choose to go on that blog is amazing, so...if you like OC fanfics, check it out? ;D**

 **Are any of you artists/mixers/animators? Because if so HELLO I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH YOU SO I CAN USE YOU (imeanwut). Sneak peeks. Discussions. Suggestions as I continue to revise my plot. Omakes. Whatever you want eyyyy I'm desperate for connections.**

 **I'll be heading to Spain and Portugal for awhile but I'll try to update sometime? I have a really long special almost finished as we wait for the manga to hurry up.**

 **Sorry for the long A/N! Love you all so much. Until next time~**


	19. Chapter 17

**Thank you all. :) Really. More notes at the bottom.**

 **Magnoshutatt Arc ends in two chapters max. Prepare for a dive into semi-canon, semi-noncanon territory. We wait for SnB scans no longer.**

 **Dedicated to _Heitor,_ who consistently sent me long essays about Yamuraiha and other stories and was one of my main motivators for writing this again. :)**

* * *

 _Quick Recap_

 _Yamuraiha's in Magnoshutatt, still. There's been a timeskip, and she is currently thirteen. Nick's coronation is approaching. She is learning more about magic._

 _Lynn is her slightly tsundere, well-meaning blonde partner. Sera's her nerdy best friend, and Alyasa is her eventually more-chill roommate._

 _Erik was a major part of testing her into Magnoshutatt. It was revealed that his parents came from Earth originally, which is why he knows that "Raiha" is actually "Yamuraiha."_

 _Yamuraiha was "Elliot" in her past life. She still hasn't completely overcome the issues that led to her suicide._

* * *

The Group A second years were gathered in the arena that Titus and Aladdin once dueled in. Yamuraiha fidgeted uncomfortably, staring up at the sky and wondering when their instructor would come. Miss Aisha, a petite woman who was rumored to be going out with their Magical History teacher, usually arrived to class promptly. They had been waiting for several minutes now, and the class had begun to get antsy.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew past them. Yamuraiha instinctively shielded her eyes from the storm of dust caused by the breeze. Body inclining towards her right instinctively, where she felt the wind abruptly stop, Yamuraiha's jaw dropped when she recognized the figure standing in front of the crowd of second years. Utter horror crossed her features as she recalled how she had teased the man about his childhood crushes _just the previous night._ "Oh, _hell_ no."

"Hello, brats. For those who don't know me, my name is Erik. Typically, I teach sixth years Magical Combat, but due to your previous instructor's... _condition_ , I'll be your Magical Combat instructor for the remainder of this school year," Erik sneered, olive green eyes sweeping across the gaggle of second years dismissively. He murmured something about "stupid horny bastards" under his breath before clearing his throat. "As you all are approaching your third year, I expect that you've already studied the fundamental concepts of magic?"

Everyone hastily nodded, unsure of how to proceed with the instructor. Yamuraiha glanced to her right, exchanging slightly wary looks with Lynn. Although their previous instructor's training rigorously honed their dueling skills, Yamuraiha had a feeling that Erik would bring their class to a whole new level...possibly at their health's expense. Considering the fact that he could nurse a _killer_ grudge, Yamuraiha doubted she'd leave this lesson unscathed.

"Today, we're going to test your levels of cooperation and activity," Erik declared. Pointing at Lynn, he commanded, "Get up here."

Lynn, being the intelligent human being he was, stood up promptly and made his way towards Erik without hesitation. Yamuraiha's shoulders sagged with relief as she let out a content sigh.

She was safe this time.

Then, Erik turned to her, olive green eyes flashing. "Up. Now," he ordered, clearly relishing in his position of authority. Resisting the urge to flip him off, she slowly stood up, taking care to purposely bump into the instructor as she brushed past him in a petty gesture of retaliation.

"I'll use these two as a demonstration," Erik declared in a matter-of-fact voice. She sent him a withering, rather immature glare.

Then, without any other warning, he extended his staff arm, shooting a beam of light towards them. Yamuraiha didn't even think: her instincts kicked in as she threw herself to the ground, grunting and feeling the sheer heat of the light beam searing her skin. Rolling over and dodging another beam of light, she happened to spot a similarly disgruntled Lynn crouching to the left. Cursing, she snatched her ivory staff from her side and extended it, silently willing the Rukh to do her bidding.

A giant, towering wall of ice formed between them and Erik. It shook under the force of his light beam, but held intact. It would buy them the few precious seconds they needed. Sometime during her incantation, Lynn had dashed to her side. "We need a plan," Yamuraiha announced, wincing; it was hard to maintain the ice wall while it was being pelted with a barrage of light beams.

Lynn utilized his extensive vocabulary. "No shit," Lynn deadpanned, rolling his eyes. Yamuraiha resisted the urge to punch him, knowing that it would hardly faze him. _Gah,_ stupid strength (and height) differences. "We should use our primary magic type: we won't be able to hold our own against him otherwise," the blonde concluded. "You're water, I'm lightning."

"We'll use my water to conduct the electric currents from your lightning," Yamuraiha offered. "The only problem is making sure none of our peers get hit."

Said peers had retreated to the edge of the arena, but it would be safest to relocate them to the spectator stands.

Lynn pointed his silver staff towards the direction of their spectators. Gigantic vines sprouted from the ground, lifting them into the air. The scene vaguely resembled something from Jack and the Beanstalk or some other outlandish folktale. Those who weren't lifted by the towering plant were instead propelled into the stands by a powerful gust of wind. The blonde grimaced, the strain of using Wind Magic causing him to physically step back. "Why is Wind Magic so difficult?" He mumbled to himself, casting a glance at her. With a somewhat smug smirk present on his face, he said, "Problem solved."

Yamuraiha didn't hesitate. With a flick of her wrist, she lifted the two of them in the air and simultaneously called, " _Shallal!_ "

 _Gather the water molecules from the nearby area. Make the water droplets condense in the air. Fill the arena._

These commands uttered in her head were enough for the entire arena to be filled with about ten inches of water. Erik looked relatively unimpressed, sending another light beam at the ice wall and shattering it completely.

" _Ramz!"_ Lynn shouted, a bolt of lightning shooting out of his staff and sending a shockwave through the water.

Despite the two of them using, essentially, the simplest spells possible for their magic type, the combination of their attacks did the trick. Erik had barely a second to realize their intentions before propelling himself upwards with Wind Magic, the lightning barely grazing his ankle. " _Flash!"_

" _Shallal!"_ Yamuraiha was quick to counter, summoning a wall of mist to deflect his attack. At the same time, Lynn darted out from his cover behind her to shoot another lightning bolt at their opponent. Erik dodged once again, looking entirely too smug at their attempts to hit him. The tealette cursed. "We're never going to deal a blow on him at this point," she pointed out desolately.

"Those who utilize Lightning Magic have an aptitude towards Life Magic," Lynn said suddenly.

Yamuraiha stared at him slowly, not comprehending. Saying such was like saying grass was green or the sky was blue: _everyone_ knew that. "Ah, thanks for the information."

"Some users of Life Magic can manipulate the Rukh of life forces enough to affect the senses, memories, or mental states of their targets," Lynn finished, raising an eyebrow at her expectantly. Yamuraiha was quick enough to fill in the blanks.

"I presume you'll try manipulating his senses?" she guessed.

"It's the simplest," Lynn admitted. "I can't do much more than subtly influencing his subconscious to whisper a few suggestions."

"Perfect," Yamuraiha replied immediately, deflecting another light beam with another wall of mist. She heavily suspected that Erik was going easy on them and was giving them time to come up with a plan. Maybe it was because he was actually trying to act as a teacher. Or, more likely, he probably wanted them to attempt their plan and fail miserably. "That's all we need."

"All we need?" Lynn echoed.

"Instead of trying to change the world around the target, change their perception," Yamuraiha explained, her nose scrunching as she struggled to find the correct words to convey what she meant. Luckily, it seemed as if the blonde miraculously understood what she meant. (" _I have no idea how Lynn understood that,"_ Sera told them later after hearing their story.) Bless Lynn for being on the same wavelength as her for once.

"Ten degrees to the left, that's the most I'll do," Lynn whispered. Then, without further ado, the two launched forward and initiated their attack.

" _Hahar Infigar!"_ Yamuraiha hastily used the flashiest spell she could think of, allowing Lynn the opportunity to slip behind their opponent as Erik was distracted with the large fireball sent his way.

Lynn raised his staff and murmured something under his breath. Erik growled, his attack veering to the right as he nearly stumbled into Yamuraiha's attack because of his skewed perception.

It looked, for a moment, that they could've won.

Then, Erik paused mid attack and started laughing. "Nice try, kiddos. Try again in another ten years and you might actually get me. Look below you."

Yamuraiha, instead of looking down as many would, jumped away using her rather genre savvy brain. Rule number twenty-seven of the genre savvy: _never_ look down, and it's likely that someone is behind you. Unfortunately for her, Erik anticipated that.

A stream of vulgar curse words spewing out of her mouth, Yamuraiha struggled against the vines curling around her wrists and ensnaring her. Her body jerked with movements as she lashed out against her bonds, arms and legs straining against their constraints. Then finally, she stilled, resigned. "That was good," she conceded grudgingly.

"It was," Lynn agreed, scowling at their instructor.

"Okay, you all saw that," Erik called at their spectators, motioning for them to leave the stands and gather in the arena once more. "These two squirts have strategy, but their execution has several flaws. I'd point them out, but that's no fun. You all need to learn how to identify and cover your weaknesses without anyone's help. I want everyone in pairs: we'll be conducting several tag team battles before moving on to individual matches. Choose your partner wisely. Now scram."

His approach was so avant garde that it took their class several seconds to process his instructions. Yamuraiha almost snorted at the sudden fear that crossed some of the magicians' expressions as they hurried to find partners. Group A, talented magicians her _ass_. It was no wonder Aladdin managed to move up the ranks ridiculously fast in Magnoshutatt: everyone only learned what they were taught. There was barely any opportunity to _expand_ or _apply_ the knowledge they were taught, and everyone embraced the propaganda their instructors fed them with open arms.

At the very least, Erik was encouraging them to think and strategize by emphasizing the importance of a balanced team. _That_ was already a step above the usual approach of their previous dueling instructors: listen to orders, learn spells, and duel with everyone.

"Raiha, wasn't it?"

Yamuraiha jerked out of her thoughts abruptly, turning around to face an amused…

 _...Mogamett?_

What the hell?

When had he…?

"Lord Mogamett," she greeted politely, bowing. Her heart thrumming rapidly in her chest, Yamuraiha plastered a sweet smile on her face as she lifted her head. "Yes, I'm called Raiha."

"Is that a nickname?"

Yamuraiha paused, studying the look in the old man's eyes. "Sir?" she ventured.

"Come, follow me," he invited, gesturing towards the exit of the arena. Yamuraiha casted an unsure glance towards Erik, who shrugged, and Lynn, who narrowed his eyes at the pair and gave a grudging nod. Cautiously, she trailed after the elder magician, her grip on her staff tightening.

"Sir, is something the matter? Did I do something wrong?"

"Ah, no. This isn't about your _actions,_ persay…" Mogamett peered at her with thinly veiled interest, playing his role as the resident Merlin well. Or maybe calling him Dumbledore was more accurate: he certainly had enough hidden agendas to play the fictional wizard. "This is about _you_ , Miss Yamuraiha."

Blood rushed to her head, panic threatening to overwhelm her and all she could think was:

 _How did he know?_

"Pardon?" The calmness of her voice surprised herself.

"I wondered of your spectacular magical prowess," he murmured, drawing closer and sending a shiver down her spine. "And your peculiar teal hair…"

 _Focus, don't show your fear. You can do this._

"Sir?" _Don't tremble, don't startle._

"Yamuraiha Ajam," Mogamett said suddenly. "Your full name is Yamuraiha Ajam."

"...I'm sorry, sir, I don't quite understand," Yamuraiha blurted out, nearly throwing caution to the wind completely. She paused, biting her lip and giving him the classic confused and innocent look. It wasn't that hard to pull off. "Do you know me?"

"I knew your parents," he answered, his voice nostalgic and eyes staring out somewhere in the distance. "They were brilliant magicians, Meira and Yasin. But they held too much faith in the Goi: I couldn't convince them to come to Magnoshutatt. Living in peace and harmony with the Goi was never an option, not even for those who served the royal family, I told them. But they trusted their comrades, their people…and paid a grave price."

Yamuraiha was _definitely,_ a hundred percent certain that this wasn't in the anime nor manga. Then again, it _did_ make sense: Mogamett had stolen Yamuraiha from the Musta'sim palace when she was a baby in canon. He must've had _some_ reason why he went to such lengths to kidnap an infant.

"When the word reached me that your parents were gone…" _Executed._ They were executed: she hated adults mincing words with her. Then again, in Mogamett's eyes, she was still a child and his euphemism was warranted. "...I tried to rescue you. But you were always too social, too close to the royals for any such opportunities to arise. I must apologize to you for that."

"Uh, there's no need for apologies," Yamuraiha said hastily, intentionally blushing and fidgeting under his stare. "Despite my rather unfortunate circumstances, things weren't _that_ bad. Some servants were kind."

She purposefully didn't mention Nick or Dunya, not wanting to send Mogamett into some kind of fit — or worse, arouse suspicion.

"When I saw you on the examination day, I had an inkling of a suspicion that you were my old friends' daughter," he explained. "But it was not until our conversation over chess that my suspicions were confirmed. Your philosophies are startlingly similar to your parents."

"And...if you knew who I was, why didn't you confront me earlier? Sir?"

"I was afraid." The blunt honesty of Mogamett's statement startled her. "I was afraid that you would hate me for leaving you with those Gois, for damning you to years of labor and prejudice."

Well, that was _sort_ of true. Not like Yamuraiha agreed with his magical discrimination rhetoric and all, but there _were_ plenty of servants who treated her unfairly because of her heritage. But what Mogamett didn't know was that she was an _adult._ She could handle everything they threw her way.

Not only that, but she would never regret meeting Nick and Dunya.

"I don't hate you," Yamuraiha replied sincerely. "But I don't hate them, either."

"Them?"

"The Gois, as you call them," she elaborated. "True, there are plenty of unkind ones. But there were so many more that I loved and treasured. After all, the only reason I escaped was because of some Goi servants."

Mogamett scrutinized her. "I do not hate Gois," he said slowly, "if that is what you are wondering."

"Oh, I've gathered that much," Yamuraiha informed him. "But I've also realized that you don't think much of them, sir. Plenty of them are brilliant, they are. Take Nick, for instance."

"Nick?"

Yamuraiha winced at her slip-up. "A servant boy from the kitchens. I snuck him into the library and since then, he's devoured entire shelves of books. And they're not just brilliant: they're kind, too. One of the girls took care of me everyday, despite not having any obligations to my parents or me."

"That's very nice, but don't be fooled, dear Yamuraiha. Although some Gois may be anomalies, Gois as a whole are a hateful species. We magicians... _we_ are the future of humanity, the evolved form...no, the superior human being," Mogamett declared, sounding remarkably similar to the articles she'd read in her past life about male scientists deriding females based off of faulty brain-size studies.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir," Yamuraiha agreed amiably. She knew she wouldn't be able to change Mogamett's mind with a few flowery words, but if she could place even a seed of doubt in Mogamett's mind, it'd be worth it.

* * *

Yamuraiha slammed the door open to Erik's lab, cloak swishing behind her dramatically as she declared, "You're a vengeful bastard, sir."

"Glad to meet your expectations," Erik snorted, taking a swig of alcohol from his mug before setting it down on the table. Throwing her a lab coat, he ordered, "Now get down here and finish up that circuit board."

Yamuraiha rolled her eyes, approaching the lab table and slipping off her cloak. Tossing said cloak onto one of the chairs and slipping on the proffered lab coat, she called, "Shinya's gonna have your head if you make drinking a habit, you know."

"Screw Shinya," Erik dismissed, defiantly striding back to his desk to take another swig of alcohol. He scowled. "She's always held up at the infirmary, anyways. And I need a drink after today's lesson."

Yamuraiha snickered despite the dark glare sent her way, pulling on rubber gloves and flexing her fingers. "What, didn't you like my newest spell?"

"Your spell rained _hair dye_ on all of us. Half of the Group A second years are walking around sprouting neon colored hairdos," Erik deadpanned, tossing something else towards her.

Yamuraiha blinked, grabbing the object just before it could hit the table. "Serves them right for not putting up a Borg in time," she replied haughtily, inspecting the item. Her breath hitched as her trembling fingers brushed against the metal surface. "Erik...is this…?"

"A camera," Erik confirmed. "I was looking over my father's notes. It's pretty helpful to have an eccentric reborn inventor as your parent, you know. I _did_ add a few magical adjustments in regards to Light Magic, of course. You liked photography, right? Take lots of pictures."

"I…" Yamuraiha's voice was choked, her eyes suspiciously wet. Cradling the camera as if it was made of glass, she managed, "Yes, I did...thank you."

Erik rolled his eyes, ruffling her hair. "Happy birthday, Elliot."

* * *

"Too slow!" _  
_

Yamuraiha _groaned,_ rolling to her left and narrowly avoiding being squashed by a giant fist of earth. "Fuck you, Lynn."

"I'd rather not," Lynn called cheekily, dodging the spears of ice sent flying his way and returning fire with a bolt of lightning. "Come on, you definitely can do better than that, Raiha. We're going to fail our midyear exams."

"Erik's going to rig our exams and fail us," Yamuraiha corrected extremely gently, taking the opportunity to shoot a blast of light at him before dodging an onslaught of fireballs. She frowned. "Or, at the very least, hold us to impossibly high standards."

"Both of you, _stop it."_

They stiffened, halted their barrage of attacks, and turned around to meet an irate Sera's eyes. "For heaven's sake, you two, I thought that having Professor Erik teach you would force you to cooperate more," the white-haired boy said exasperatedly, crossing his arms over his chest. Behind him lingered an amused Alyasa.

"We _are_ cooperating," Yamuraiha protested, the butt of her staff slamming on the ground.

"We're dueling to hone our skills," Lynn agreed amiably, slinging his silver staff back into its holster.

"One wayward spell and you'd be spending the next two days in the infirmary with me," Alyasa pointed out, flipping her hair and giving the pair a disappointed look. "And honey, I may tolerate you now, but I won't be healing you or Lynn from wounds caused from _practice."  
_

"We're very careful," Yamuraiha lied, subtly snuffing out the fire on the hem of her robe. In a show of spectacular coordination, she promptly tripped over her staff and fell on her ass.

"Very," Lynn echoed, sassily placing a hand on his hip. Yamuraiha's leg swept at him, bringing him down on the ground with her.

Sera and Alyasa's identical aggravated expressions almost made Yamuraiha keel over with laughter. Exchanging looks, her companions grabbed Lynn and her by the arms, hauling them to their feet. "Let's just...go eat," Sera huffed, his grip on her arm surprisingly strong as he dragged her away from the arena.

"Onwards!" Yamuraiha cheered. "Maybe we can sneak into the classroom while everyone's eating: I've been planning something _interesting_ for the fourth years."

Three simultaneous groans resounded in the clearing.

* * *

.

.

 _Swish._

"Lynn: eight, Raiha: six."

" _Screw you."_

"At least _try_ to be a little more creative with your insults."

.

.

"Where the fuck can I even _try_ to find this chemical?"

"Boiling the extract of that plant should work…"

"Ah, perfect. Here."

"I'm a child, Erik: I can't handle dangerous chemicals."

"Oh, woe. I guess I'll pair you with Yaste for the next sparring session."

"...gimme the vials."

.

.

 _Screech._

"You've improved."

"Thank you, I've taken your lessons to heart."

"You almost fooled me."

 _Screech._

"Maybe next time. Checkmate."

 _Sigh._

"I had a friend once."

"Hm?"

"She was my attendant, Mira. A Goi…there was this one time..."

.

.

"I've figured it out!"

"...?"

"Raiha, don't you see? The Imuchakk tribe at one point had friendly relations with this area two hundred years ago. It's not a far stretch to say that one of your ancestors were Imuchakk, which explains your hair."

"...ah. That's pretty exciting. What about your hair, Sera?"

"I've traced my family line and discovered I _do_ have Heliohapt roots. It's really cool, actually. Wanna see my family tree?"

.

.

 _Swoosh._

"I swear, this is the _fifth_ time this week you've snuck back into the dorms after curfew. Were you planning another petty prank on one of those third years?"

"...ehehe…"

 _Sigh._

"Just...tell me which areas to avoid and when."

"...the training arena tomorrow at noon. And the mess hall in the early morning. And their dorms in general."

"...you are _so_ lucky I'm your roommate."

"...I know."

* * *

"Hey kiddos, as you've probably noticed, we have a few visitors today," Erik announced, olive eyes scanning his group of students with exaggerated casualness. Hopefully his ease would affect the students: almost all of them fidgeted and continuously looked behind them to where Mogamett sat. "Try not to make me look too bad. We're doing one-on-one midyear examinations: feel free to practice with a partner while you wait your turn. Any volunteers to go first?"

Immediately, two hands shot up. Erik glanced at his pair of bright-haired students before turning away. "...anybody else?" he asked, voice demanding. Although he found Lynn and Elliot's _("Yamuraiha,"_ he reminded himself, " _But she's Raiha right now: you can't slip up.")_ rivalry amusing, their exuberance sometimes deterred other students from volunteering first.

It wasn't out of a sense of cowardice or shyness — oh no, _plenty_ of the magicians in Group A were pretentious bastards — but out of a sense of self preservation. The duo tended to wreck the battlefield whether or not in an actual duel, so most preferred for them to duke it out and get the fight out of their systems instead of having two antsy teenagers screw over other people's duels.

Erik sighed, acquiescing to the two's pressing gazes. "Lynn, you're up."

The blonde haired magician had proved to be extremely talented in the months that Erik taught him. He also defied Erik's originally perception of him, a rather rare occurrence. Erik had originally thought him to be arrogant and cocky before discovering his gruff kindness. _Tsundere,_ Elliot had called him once. Erik seldom judged others' characters incorrectly: his sharp perception had been taught to him by his father, after all. His father had been a "lawyer" in his past life.

It was a rather interesting prospect: a world with a fair judicial system, where a king's word was not finality and every person had inequivocabile rights. His parents had told him plenty of stories in the past, filling his head with notions of democracy and freedom. Although he spent _years_ of his life dreaming of those foreign words, Erik never truly _understood_ them.

Then he met Elliot. Or Yamuraiha. Or, as she was known in Magnoshutatt, simply "Raiha."

Erik had poured over his mother's journals for years and _years_ upon end, memorizing the faces of Alibaba and Aladdin, waiting for the rise of Sinbad, and preparing himself for the founding of Magnoshutatt.

Nothing came close to actually meeting one of the characters in his mother's journals.

Yamuraiha, no last name: genius Water Magician and one of Sinbad's Eight Generals. Although she played less of a part in the "plot" compared to Alibaba, her role as a General held weight over Sindrian politics. Erik had originally planned on becoming Yamuraiha's private teacher to manipulate her. If he could get a hold of _any_ of the canon characters, he could use them to change the plot.

He never thought that "Raiha" would _also_ be from That World. _Earth,_ they called it. His parents always wore pained expressions when speaking of their former world. As blighted as it might have been, it had borne a plethora of innovative ideas that Erik wouldn't have _ever_ thought about.

Democracy. Freedom. Acceptance. Equality.

Elliot believed in them all.

Former citizens of Parthevia, the Reim Empire, the Kou Empire — she befriended them all. Students from year seven to year one — she approached them all. Magicians from lower level groups — she helped them all. Even the Gois, the people that Magnoshutatt magicians treated like trash — they too were equal in her eyes.

Elliot had quickly become an integral part of his life before he realized it. She was his lab assistant and magic protege in one. She was his confidant, his student, his _friend._ Sometimes Erik could even fool himself into thinking she was the little sister he never had: for, even though Elliot had lived a life before Yamuraiha, she died young.

 _I was still in college,_ she told him, and that was the end of their discussion about her previous life. Erik respected others' privacy, his first impression on her aside. _(Hey,_ in his defense, he was _supposed_ to mess with the kid. Although they had gotten over that hurdle, sometimes he still felt an inkling of...guilt.)

Erik dueled Lynn on autopilot. His movements were seamless, his spell execution flawless. Erik had honed his skills furiously since his childhood: strength was the only way he could ensure his survival, and more importantly, the survival of his mother's foreknowledge.

He let himself get nicked by one of Lynn's fireballs. It wouldn't do for him to humiliate his students completely: the whole point of Mogamett coming was to evaluate their progress.

Lynn was obviously pulling all stops in his effort to impress Mogamett, using all sorts of nifty spells that weren't part of the curriculum. Erik recognized some of them as the ones he taught Elliot in between experiments. Shooting a beam of light, Erik couldn't help but nod in approval at Lynn's counter. The kid would turn out great someday if he continued down this path.

"Alright, Raiha. Your turn," Erik commanded, waving at her. The girl complied, exchanging high-fives with Lynn as she approached him.

" _Hahar Infigar!"_

She was quick to counter. " _Shallal!"_

Then, they began their exchange of silent spells. Speaking the spells, after all, was just a way to focus the spellcaster. Erik easily dodged her attempts at killing him (he told her to try using lethal spells just to piss her off when they failed) and sent back spells of his own. Their silent exchange went on for about four minutes before Erik decided to get back at the girl.

He stood, waiting, and laughed as her spells bounced off of his nearly impenetrable Borg. "Is _that_ the best you've got?"

She scowled. "Screw you!"

"No physical attacks!" Erik called, "We're testing your _magic._ Not how well your dirty fighting is."

Irritated, she grumbled something undoubtedly uncomplimentary under her breath before attempting to grow vines below him. It was a good attempt, but Erik simply snickered when she realized that his erected Borg covered his feet as well.

She shot a fireball at him; he reflected it back at her. She shot shards of ice at him; he reflected them back at her again. They quickly settled into a routine.

Then things went wrong.

She shot a large wave at him, one that he idly recognized.. Apparently, Elliot had shamelessly ripped it off of another anime. The spell was a _damn good_ one: it formed a deadly sphere she called a "Water Prison" when it hit its target.

He reflected the spell reflexively.

If the spell had been _anything_ else, she would've been fine and would have dispelled the wave without a second thought.

But it was _water,_ and when the water engulfed her, Elliot froze and went completely still. Erik cursed, immediately dashing towards her, throwing all caution to the wind as he summoned vines to pull her out of the prison. Paying no heed to the shocked whispers around them, Erik grabbed Elliot by the shoulders and lowered her to the ground.

"Breathe, Elliot. _Breathe,_ dammit," he commanded.

She let out several raspy gasps. "I-I...I c-can't…"

Erik cursed and turned to Lynn, who was hovering near them with a peculiar expression on his face.

"Is she…?"

"Get fucking Shinya over here," Erik ordered.

"N-no," Elliot ( _Yamuraiha)_ managed, stumbling to her feet. "I…I'm fine." An obvious lie, belied by the fact that she was swaying precariously on her feet. "Just gimme a moment."

"You told me you were over your panic attacks," Erik hissed desperately, something akin to guilt clawing in his chest.

"I lied," she admitted guilelessly.

"Raiha—" Lynn started.

"Yamuraiha, my name is Yamuraiha," she blurted out. Her figure trembled. "No more lies than necessary," she whispered to herself, her voice so quiet that only Erik caught it. "No more…"

"Yamuraiha…?"

"I should go. No more. I...I gotta go."

Pivoting on her heel, Elliot turned around and fled.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **I'm pretty rusty at writing Yamuraiha. Please excuse me.** **Once again, Magnoshutatt arc ends in two chapters max.**

 **The next chapter is almost finished and should be published in two weeks (max).**

 **We will be heading into noncanon territory that will bridge the gap between Sinbad no Bouken and Magi _unless_ the translators manage to pull out forty chapters in the next two weeks. ****Long story short about my absence, I bit off more than I could chew with the things I've signed myself up for in life. I also became extremely invested in Kuroshitsuji, Tumblr, and Ao3. I have no legitimate excuses - just my overconfidence.**

 **The only reason I'm writing this again is because of all of you, so _thank you._ I've forgotten how much I loved all of these characters, and _your words_ are my motivation. I'm serious. I've taken many of your suggestions to heart. :)**

 **So, if any of you are still out here reading this, thank you very much for your support.**

 **Until next time!**


	20. Valentine's Day Special

.

.

 _Main Prompt:_ _ **What if Yamuraiha was a Dungeon Capturer?**_

 _Other requests incorporated in here: Oblivious!Raiha with the guys flirting with her, lots of ships, more Nick/Raiha, flustered Raiha because that's cute._

 **.**

 **.**

 **Hello everyone! I'm astounded by the response last chapter received— so glad to see so many of you sticking around :)**

 **This is for Valentine's Day! For the singles out there, I'll be your valentine ;)  
**

* * *

 _Aka an AU in which Yamuraiha never learned magic, stayed in Musta'sim, became a Dungeon Conqueror, became the right hand woman of Nick, but still managed to meet everyone else._

* * *

 _S_ he stared at the book cover silently, her hand trembling as she brushed aside the dust.

The cover read _Fundamental Principles of Magic._

Her eyebrows creased slightly. This was original Yamuraiha's destiny: to become a magician. But did she want this for herself? The risks were high: if she was discovered, she could be executed. Yamuraiha blinked and touched the book again. It looked so tantalizing…

She took a deep breath before whipping around, intending to get a bag to grab and hide the book in. But before she could take any action, the doors to the library opened.

"Raiha, have you seen Dunya?" Nick demanded, his stormy gray eyes too intensely focused on her eyes to notice Yamuraiha quickly shoving the book back on the shelf.

"...no, why? Yamuraiha asked slowly, inching away from the bookshelf inconspicuously while noting the panic that settled on Nick's face. "Did something happen?"

It took Nick about three seconds to internally wrestle with himself. Finally, it seemed as if his feelings of overprotectiveness as an older brother won over any royal obligations that might have stopped him.

"...have you heard of Sinbad, the Dungeon Conqueror?" Nick blurted out before he could stop himself. Yamuraiha had to fight to keep her face from betraying her true tumultuous emotions.

"I've read the stories...why?" she asked warily, her eyes sharpening.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you this…" Nick trailed off, but seeing her deadpan expression, he pushed away his concerns and grumbled, "Oh, to Hell with it. A dungeon was discovered near the coastal city of Al Kamilia. Isaac, along with some other guards, was sent to check it out, but none have returned yet."

Yamuraiha visibly froze. Musta'sim typically did _not_ deal with dungeons: Scheherazade definitely stuck around the Reim Empire. The dungeon opening _could_ have been because of Yunan, but she had a sinking feeling that Al Tharmen was involved with this...for whatever reason.

This was the perfect opportunity for the crown to send anybody they disliked to their deaths. Multiple thoughts ran through her mind, and to her surprise, the faces of Isaac's mother and the rest of his housemates popped into her mind before any thoughts of self preservation.

 _Oh, way to go, Raiha: you got attached_.

"Histok," the name slipped out. She hadn't seen the black haired, tsundere crush of Mira's for a while now.

"...who?"

"Was there a palace guard named Histok within the group as well?" Yamuraiha clarified.

"I can't recall, but I can search through my papers…" Nick's eyebrows creased. Then he remembered the task at hand and grabbed Yamuraiha's arm almost desperately. With a voice full of false bravado that faltered as soon as Yamuraiha gave him a perceptive glance, Nick explained, "Dunya has gone missing. I think she was eavesdropping on my father talking about the dungeon and has set off to stop Isaac from...well..." _Getting killed_ sounded too brutal, so he settled for a softer euphemism, "Danger."

"Where have you checked?" Yamuraiha asked quietly, her demand barely audible even in the silent library.

"Her room, Isaac's house, here, and the gardens," Nick said tiredly. "The only servant who has seen her in the past day was the kitchen boy, and he told me she requested an abnormally large amount of food. You don't think…"

"She's stubborn like that," Yamuraiha sighed, shaking her head. "There's no doubt about it. I think me telling her all of those fairy tales about independent princesses got to her head. She probably wants to defeat the dungeon and attempt to save Isaac, that _idiot._ I assume Regina and Isaac's mother will be on the lookout for her here, but knowing Dunya she's probably out of the castle by now. Maybe even this province."

"I asked for the servants to search for clues," Nick informed. "And I told my father, but he...he doesn't seem that worried."

Of course not. No matter how promising marrying off Dunya might be, or how much of a charming individual she was, the king had no time to send soldiers after a missing daughter. If it was Nick, the crown prince, things may have been different. But sending people after Dunya at the present moment wasn't an option. There was an epidemic going around the kingdom, not to mention the King probably had to deal with the growing public disapproval.

Sending some soldiers to the dungeon was obviously just a ploy to regain some public support: Yamuraiha personally doubted the king actually believed they could conquer the dungeon. The king wasn't going to expand desperately needed manpower on his daughter.

"He probably _is_ worried, Nick," Yamuraiha attempted to comfort the prince. "But you and I both are intelligent enough to deduce that he _can't_ go after her right now."

"We have to get her back," Nick said desperately, and then Yamuraiha remembered that as mature as the boy was, he was still a teenager and overprotective elder brother.

"I have an inkling of what route she might take," Yamuraiha said slowly. She pretended to ignore the hope and anticipation that ignited in Nick's eyes that he quickly smothered. "I recall showing her a book of maps once that she really liked…" The tealette hurried over to a certain aisle in the library. When she found the book, she flipped around before her eyes landed on a section of the book that was ripped out.

"What do we _do_ , then?" Nick asked from behind her, his head peering over her shoulders.

"There...there was a map on this page," she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut and searching through her memories. Unfortunately, as intelligent as Yamuraiha might hold herself to, the tealette didn't have an eidetic memory. She had read hundreds of books in this library, and recalling one individual page was near impossible. Memory was out of the question. That left her deduction skills. Flipping through some of the pages, she mused, "Judging by the book title and the other maps in this section of the book, these are major caravan routes throughout Musta'sim. And this chapter is about the Sen province." Yamuraiha turned to Nick. "How many major trade routes are there in the Sen province?"

"Five," Nick answered automatically, and Yamuraiha gestured to the missing page.

"There's only one route missing." She could see a plan formulating in the Prince's eyes.

"We're going to find her," Yamuraiha said quietly. "Now go get ready. Leave a note too, I'm not going to be labeled 'royal kidnapper' or something."

"Got it."

* * *

"I can't believe we just missed her," Yamuraiha groaned, glancing at a haggard looking green haired prince. The two of them were standing outside of an inn, having just checked with the receptionist on the whereabouts of Dunya. The receptionist had replied that said green haired girl had just left a few hours before. Even at their top speed, Yamuraiha knew they wouldn't be able to catch up to the princess and stop her from entering the dungeon in time. "This only means one thing: she's already at the dungeon, now."

"Then it's _hopeless_ ," Nick groaned, sitting down on the stone bench behind him and burying his face into his hands. "Dungeons claim hundreds of lives. The only way for anyone to escape is if the dungeon is conquered, and what's the chance of _that_ happening?"

Yamuraiha stared at the giant tower looming over the coastal city for several long moments.

Dunya was a canon character. She had survived to canon, so why was this so different?

Dunya deserved to live. She couldn't just _die_. ( _Not yet, at least.)_ She couldn't just become one of the nameless casualties to a _dungeon_ of all things.

"I'm going in there," the words slipped out of her mouth before she could stop them. Nick looked up, his stormy gray eyes swimming with multiple emotions, the most prominent being shock. ( _To be honest, she couldn't believe she was saying so herself._ )

"What?"

"I'll conquer the Dungeon," Yamuraiha said swiftly, turning around and meeting Nick's gaze levelly. Her heart was beating loudly in her chest, but she continued babbling and warming herself up to the idea. She had to decide _now_ , before her rationality could catch up with what she was saying. "Sinbad did it, why can't I?"

"But he's...he's…"

"A person," Yamuraiha said quietly, reaching an epiphany. Half to Nick and half to herself, she murmured, "He may be special, he may be loved by the Rukh, but he's still one person. No matter how special he is, he's still...just one man." Realization dawned on her features. Sinbad...she had always found his character intriguing back in her past life, but that had been all. He had been a _character_ , not a living person. Now that she was here...she couldn't help but wonder how one man could change the world so much. He was just one person, yet he led with such natural confidence that Yamuraiha couldn't help but feel jealous, even if she hadn't met him.

He was just one person, yet he was trying to shoulder such a large burden.

And in that moment, Yamuraiha realized that she probably never could fully _hate_ Sinbad. Dislike? Probably: considering his personality, she doubted that they would be the best of friends. But at the same time, she knew that there would be a part of her that _admired_ him, this fisherman's son that forged friendships and gained power like it was easy.

"But you're…" Nick struggled to find the words.

Yamuraiha sighed, shoulders slumping with a burden too heavy for her to maintain. Foreknowledge...Yamuraiha had been planning on using it for self preservation, but standing and looking at Nick in the eyes while thinking ' _he'll die'_ wasn't anything pleasant. Maybe...maybe she could use it to _change_ things. Slowly, she said, "I am Yamuraiha, a nine years old magician's daughter. Arguably, I am intelligent, and that's what's going to help me in there. Dunya can't survive in there on her own."

The Prince stared at her for one long moment, and for some reason it felt as if he was really _seeing_ her for the first time.

( _She couldn't help but wonder what exactly he saw: Raiha? Elliot? Yamuraiha? Or all three?)_

Then, he squared his shoulders and said grimly, "I'm coming too."

"...what?" she deadpanned.

"I'm coming."

"...no, you're not," Yamuraiha said slowly, almost as if patronizing a child.  
"Yes, I am." Nick's matter-of-fact tone nearly threw her off, and that's when her brain finally kicked in.

"The kingdom needs an heir to the throne," Yamuraiha disagreed.

"Screw the Kingdom. Dunya's not your responsibility."

"She's my friend."

"She's my _sister_ ," Nick said heatedly, and the two stared at each other for another long moment. She could see it in his stormy gray eyes: Nick wasn't going to relent any time soon.

"Fine," Yamuraiha relented. "But I can't guarantee that you'll come out alive."

"Let's leave that up to Fate, now shall we?" Nick smirked, and he pointed at the Dungeon. "Let's go."

* * *

The Dungeon wasn't like anything Yamuraiha had ever expected. Even though seeing pictures of Dungeons from her past life should've prepared her to some extent, the beauty and almost innocent looking wonders that dazzled her eyes when she entered were hard to ignore. Trees were growing in the Dungeon, but not from the ground but from the _sky_. Metal and jewelry were scattered around the Dungeon, but they weren't just on the ground or in chests. They were, quite literally, floating in the air.

She hesitantly touched a diamond necklace that floated past her and was surprised to see that there wasn't any trap that was triggered by the touch. Yamuraiha spotted a glowing piece of jewelry, and with more careful inspection, she discovered that it was a red jewel encrusted headband. Her heart ached for a moment as she tilted her head and traced her finger against the intricate carvings. Where had she seen those jewels before?

" _Here, a gift to commemorate our third year of being besties~"_

" _Oi, oi, Alex...aren't_ girls _the ones who are supposed to like jewelry shopping?"_

" _Oh, shut up El. Here, a garnet one for you, an emerald one for me. Our birthstones~"_

" _...this is_ just _like the last time when you were talking about how compatible we were from astrological signs. You're so girly sometimes."_

" _Shush, young grasshopper. You'll understand the meaning of love horoscopes someday~ Just watch, when we're old and married, I'll get to say 'I told you so' and you won't even be able to smack me because I was_ right."

" _Yeah, yeah."_

Ah, so that was where she recognized them. Yamuraiha...no, _Elliot_ had never been interested in jewelry, so she surprised herself when the gemstone's name slipped out of her lips.

"Garnets…" She identified, and she blinked when the headband landed on her head, fasting itself on her securely. Scowling, she tried pulling it off but found she couldn't. It was as if the headband was a magnet and she was metal: no matter how much she pulled it off, it kept flying back onto her teal locks.

...interesting.

She turned around and saw a similar thing was happening to Nick, a diamond crown fastening itself on his head. The jewels caught the light magnificently, sending several rays of light in all directions and making the prince look almost like a disco ball.

"It senses your regality," she snickered.

"Oh, shut up." Nick scowled, trying to pull off the heavy and extremely lustrous diadem but to no avail. Reluctantly, he dropped his hands and attempted to ignore the glittering diamond jewels. His expression turned serious. "How do we find Dunya?"

"Well…" she trailed off, and then a scream sounded. "Probably that way," she said helpfully, and with that, they were running.

She blinked. Instead of a dangerous dragon or monster that she was expecting, all she saw was a platoon of soldiers lying flat on the ground, grumbling angrily to themselves. It was a miracle that none of them had accidentally stabbed each other when they fell to the ground. "Uh...what's going on?"

"...Yamuraiha? Is that you?" A voice called, and she recognized Histok's face.

"Histok, what's the matter?" She shouted, cautiously taking a step forward.

" _Don't move!"_ He called, and she stopped in her tracks, heeding Histok's warning. He elaborated, "It's like we're stuck to the ground. When we stepped onto these metal plates, it was as if something was pulling us to the ground."

Yamuraiha experimentally thrust her hand around the area where the soldiers were, and immediately felt a force pulling her hand to the ground. With Nick's help, she pulled away from that general area. "A...gravitational field?" She questioned, but something felt off about that. She noticed that she was wearing a metal bracelet, and suddenly an idea popped into her mind.

Nick creased his eyebrows. "A _what_?"

Oh yeah, physics was literally out of the question in the Magi world. Thanks to the presence of magic, studies about the natural workings of the world had been thrown out of the window for studies of the Rukh. She had unintentionally slipped back into English, her home language from her past life, when identifying the force. She cleared her throat, too lost in her thoughts to properly give an answer. "Let me think about this for a moment."

She glanced upwards, to the floating jewelry again. Then she noticed a particular insignia on the ground. Bending down, her fingers brushed over the insignia. There was an immediate effect. The metal jewelry was flung upwards and stuck to the ceiling. She felt a faint tug on her head from where the garnet encrusted headband was.

Hand brushing over the headband, she realized that it wasn't made out of gold like she previously thought. No, it was definitely _iron._ And iron...

"No, this isn't gravity...it's magnetism," she breathed. Yamuraiha's mind was running. She was always more of a chemistry person, but then again, all the sciences were interconnected to an extent. Thinking aloud, she mused, "The soldiers are wearing metal, so it'd be easy for them to get stuck. That insignia almost felt...warm. Electricity? The flow of electricity along metal _does_ generate magnetic fields, but they're usually really miniscule. Then again, in this world anything's possible. Magic…? Perhaps the presence of the Rukh can amplify the fields generated by the electricity? But how would that work?"

The most important thing to take away was that the Djinn of this Dungeon probably somehow controlled magnetivity. And that Dunya wasn't here.

"Where's the Princess?" She asked Histok.

"She...she decided to try finding the Djinn to get us out," Histok croaked, voice burning with shame. "We've been stuck here for awhile. The jewelry didn't attach to her in time so she was able to move to the other side."

"Nick, give them the supplies we packed?" Yamuraiha suggested, and before the boy could protest she glanced around the room and assessed her situation. Histok had said that the metal plates were what triggered the magnetic field.

...alright, so maybe Yamuraiha was crazy, but she had a gameplan. If things failed, she was sure that Nick could figure out something. She pulled off the metal bracelets she wore and attempted to take off the garnet encrusted headband (but to no avail). Ah, well. She'd just have to hope that she could be quick enough.

"Alright, if I fail Nick, you're on your own," Yamuraiha said quickly (the green haired prince jolted at her sudden declaration), and before she could scare herself out of doing so, she dashed across the metal tiles towards the other side of the room. She could feel an immense force tugging at her head, but luckily, that was the only force pulling at her and she was barely able to make it through in time.

Breathing harshly, she glanced over at the other side to see Nick nodding at her, his eyes sharp. _I'll take care of these guys, you find Dunya. I'll catch up._ He probably had figured out Yamuraiha somewhat knew what she was doing.

She nodded back at him before continuing to the next part of the Dungeon. "Reduce the amount of metal you're wearing!" She called over her shoulder as she hurried off.

* * *

Yamuraiha wasn't sure how she survived the next few rooms.

Probably dumb luck.

Or the Rukh just wanted to mess with her: let her get through these challenges and have her fail at the last challenge. Her eyes brightened when she spotted Dunya. " _Dunya_!" She called, and the Princess turned around.

"R-Raiha?" She asked tearfully.

"I'm here," Yamuraiha told her friend calmly, sounding much more composed than she actually was in her head. "Good job for getting through everything thus far. What's going on?"

"There's _writing_ on these walls, but I can't read them." Dunya gestured at the walls. Yamuraiha scanned them before she almost visibly paled. "There's not even that much…"

The tealette could barely hear the green haired princess's words, for she had begun trembling with emotion as she traced the etchings on the wall. Her breathing had turned shallow, and although she didn't notice it, her face had turned pale. She could faintly hear Dunya's concerned remarks ring in her ears, but it almost felt as if she was submerged in water. Nothing in the world really existed except for her and these etchings.

It was like...it looked like…

She licked her lips and stepped back, observing the words and throwing her hands into her robe pockets to keep them from trembling even more.

...the languages from her old life. A mix of them. She could see Japanese characters, Chinese characters...some Dutch, perhaps? Korean, English, Spanish...so many languages.

It would take forever to decipher this.

But why were these _here_? Nobody in this world should be able to read these: everyone only knew the standard Magi language. The only one who could read it...the only one…

...was _her._

 _(Or so she thought, at the time anyways. In a different world, a vastly different Raiha sat listening to Erik's explanation about others that were reincarnated, her expression carefully devoid of all emotions.)_

There was one thing that was very important about her past life that helped her a lot now: languages had been _her thing._

Some kids were good at history. Others had been good at mathematics. And Yamuraiha? _No_ , not Yamuraiha, _Elliot._ Elliot had loved languages. Languages and chemistry were her passions, and although she had believed only the latter would help her in this life, she supposed that her love of linguistics helped her now. Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, and English: that was her sad and slightly pathetic repertoire.

...could she do this?

She observed the large wall for awhile. It seemed as if some of the words were grouped together. Each cluster of characters was relatively far apart from the other. Although she couldn't _see_ the Rukh, she suddenly felt a compulsory impulse that drew her towards one of the clusters of words.

夢

That character was...dream, if she recalled right. She hadn't taken Chinese, but she was pretty sure that the Japanese character was dream, and hoped that she had interpreted the correct meaning. A 'sa' gyou was on top, and with the small 'ta' at the bottom, she was able to identify it. She didn't remember the middle parts of the character...but Yamuraiha could only hope for the best.

 _Vida_

That was an easy one. Life, in Spanish.

 _Mentior_

She didn't recognize this language. It looked like a romantic language...or maybe it was even Latin itself. It faintly reminded her of 'mentir', to lie, in Spanish. Lie? Fake?

غير طبيعى

This one was only easy because of the fact that part of the language spoken in the Magi world used Arabic. It took her less than a moment to decipher the meaning: _abnormal._ She paled, and could feel a tremor run through her body.

 _décès_

There weren't _that_ many languages with the grave accent. The only two that Yamuraiha could think of off of the top of her head were Vietnamese and French. Seeing as she didn't recognize it as a Vietnamese word, she assumed it probably was French. Although she never learned French, it was still a romantic language. Its words resembled Spanish in a lot of ways, and this one...it reminded her of…'deceased'. Deceased? Death? Something along those lines.

The last word…

どこ?

 _Where,_ her mind supplied helpfully. Relief filled her when she realized she had deciphered the sentence. Dream, life, fake/lie, abnormal, death/deceased, and where. It sounded….it sounded almost like…

...it was directed towards her.

Eyes glancing upwards, she noticed there was jewelry floating above her again. And then something caught her eye…

...opals.

Why opals? Was there some kind of significance about them that she didn't know about? Yamuraiha almost wished she had paid attention to Alex's ramblings about gemstones and the like in her past life. _Almost._

Her hand reached out, and to her surprise the opal bracelet simply fell onto her hand. There were several gemstones, and when closely examining the bracelet, the opals fell out. She had a handful of the stones in her hand, and confusedly glanced at Dunya. The Princess helpfully shrugged and pointed to some of the crevices in the wall. The crevices were arranged almost as if they were a grid...almost as if she were supposed to _write_ something there. (Or graph something, but Yamuraiha heavily doubted that the challenge would suddenly switch from languages to calculus.)

Yamuraiha had an idea. She didn't even know where the idea had come from: maybe it was just Fate that she would solve this puzzle, or maybe she was just secretly a genius Kudo Shinichi in disguise.

She pushed the gemstones into the crevices, carefully spelling out in English: _E._

To her surprise, the doors opened. Yamuraiha glanced at Dunya again, and the Princess nodded. "Onwards?" The green haired girl suggested, and Yamuraiha was glad that it was Dunya and not Nick here. As nice as she was, Dunya could be a little...dim at times, as expected of a girl her age that had been sheltered all her life. She didn't question why or how Yamuraiha knew how to enter, she just followed. That made sense: in this day and age, women in Musta'sim still were very much subservient to men, and as the Princess, Dunya had been raised to the expectations of knowing how to sew and smile sunnily for her future husband, not to think and question everything that people told her.

Nick, on the other hand, would've been on her in an instant, demanding answers and explanations. He'd make a good king someday, Yamuraiha reflected as she entered the room.

" _What is this? Can it be that someone has entered already?"_ A voice, as smooth as silk, purred. Yamuraiha let herself have a moment of silence and peace, eyes sweeping around the room, before she gazed upwards.

Pale blue skin, light as the sky, was illuminated by the faint golden glow that came from the _mounds_ of jewelry adorning the notably voluptuous body of the female djinn. From precious metals like gold and silver to rare gemstones like sapphires, all sorts of accessories were draped over the blue giant. The Djinn looked faintly amused when she noticed Yamuraiha and Dunya's blatant staring at the enormous amount of wealth the djinn had accumulated around her.

" _Oh my, I forgot that my collection can overwhelm people when they first see it_ ," the Djinn rolled her eyes, raising her hand dismissively. As if they had a mind of their own, nearly all the jewelry on the woman flew off and landing with a sharp thud in a large pile in the corner of the room. " _Better_?"

"Y-yes," Dunya croaked out, her face uncertain. Yamuraiha simply nodded, observing the sight before her calculatively.

" _Now, now...how did you two girls get in here? From what I remember, I_ …" The Djinn blinked and observed Yamuraiha's garnet headband. She hummed thoughtfully, " _I see, I see...I had only done so on a whim, a whisper from the Rukh, but it seems that I have made the right choice in sealing myself with such a cryptic puzzle. Tell me dear, how is life treating you?_ "

Yamuraiha could feel Dunya gazing at her, her expression definitely screaming 'be polite'. "Everything I do somehow manages to bite me in the ass," she deadpanned.

" _Indeed_ ," the Djinn laughed, covering her mouth delicately with her hand. " _But anyways, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Hoshia, and I am the Djinn of the forty-ninth Dungeon._ "

"I am Princess Dunya of Musta'sim," Dunya said quietly, and although her chin was trembling the green haired girl held her head high in front of the Djinn. "And I demand that you let Raiha and my men go."

"And her brother too," Yamuraiha added helpfully. Dunya blinked in surprise before she was stammering some nonsense, too shocked to properly register her friend's words. Yamuraiha's expression turned solemn as she bowed her head at the Djinn. "Yamuraiha, a castle servant. It's a pleasure."

" _Both of you don't grovel on your knees and beg for your friends, how interesting_ ," Hoshia noted.

"The Princess will not ever go on her knees for anyone rather than her father, brother, and future husband," Yamuraiha said evenly, as Dunya still seemed too shocked by the fact that Nick was here to speak. "And I am not so desperate to do such a thing."

" _Hubris_?"

"No, logic," Yamuraiha corrected. Boldly, she stared evenly at Hoshia and said, "You have to give us a chance to prove ourselves as worthy or unworthy of being your King."

" _And who says that I have to give you a chance?_ " Hoshia asked, golden eyes glittering in amusement as Dunya turned a pale shade of white next to Yamuraiha.

"You don't need to," Yamuraiha shrugged. "But I'd assume that spending years in this Dungeon with nothing to do could be a bit too boring for your taste."

" _Oho~ and what makes you assume that I would get bored?"_

"When I entered the room, I didn't just notice the jewelry. Sure, the vast collection of jewels could prove a distraction for most people. But I knew better than to just focus on them. You have quite a vast collection of swords, not to mention the majority of the Dungeon challenges weren't just menial physical tasks. You challenged our thinking and problem solving skills with puzzles. It's a guess, but I don't think that you just created those puzzles to stop us from coming. You also did it because you were bored." Yamuraiha gestured to the Djinn. "As we walked in, you were showing signs of boredom, such as repeatedly tapping your finger. After we arrived, your body language shifted. Such observations led me to my conclusion."  
Of course, that was a giant leap of logic, but Yamuraiha already blurted it out, so she might as well stick with said explanation. If there was one thing she learned in her past life's education, it was how to bullshit well.

" _Interesting train of thought…_ " Hoshia hummed noncommittally. " _But you lack proper evidence._ "

"I'm not completely wrong, though," Yamuraiha stated evenly. She knew that at least _some_ of her points were valid. And even though she definitely knew that she was missing many pieces of the puzzle, she noted that Hoshia hadn't rejected her hypothesis yet. There was a moment of silence before Hoshia threw her head back, laughing.

" _You're quite amusing, magician_ ," Hoshia commented.

"...magician?"

" _Oh, whoops. Alternate storyline, or so the Rukh tells me. Don't mind me._ " The Djinn waved off the comment easily, and although Yamuraiha's first instinct was to continue questioning the Djinn about her comment, the tealette was forced to back down when she felt Dunya's hand on her shoulder.

" _Very well, I will grant you and your friend the opportunity to be my King._ " The Djinn flicked her hand, and suddenly the metal tiles on the floor levitated and spun around in the air, forming a somewhat elliptical shape in the air that resembled a mirror.

" _Who do you see?_ " The Djinn asked softly.

Dunya blinked. "Isn't this just a reflection of myself?"

The Djinn frowned, and the green haired girl immediately knew she said something wrong and hastily tried to say something, but Hoshia rose a hand and cut the girl off, " _No matter. Yamuraiha, who do you see?_ "

"Nobody important," Yamuraiha said softly, staring at her reflection. The image suddenly flickered, and for a moment she was staring at a teal haired girl in black magician's robes, then a teal haired girl in a Roman-ish toga, then a black cloaked figure with a mask ( _what was going on?_ ) before the image flickered back to her reflection.

" _What are your goals in life?"_ Hoshia purred.

This was sounding more like a business interview than a chance to become a Dungeon Conqueror. Yamuraiha wasn't sure what the Djinn was getting at. "To protect what's important to me," Yamuraiha started, and she could see the light in the Djinn's eyes dim. _How typical_ , she could almost hear the Djinn thinking. Undeterred, Yamuraiha continued nonchalantly, "And screw over the storyline. Oh, or maybe I can collect enough power to control the Underworld of this world. Or perhaps make a great alliance with some countries. Time will tell, really."

 _She just didn't want to be...forgotten._

Yamuraiha got the feeling that Hoshia was expecting some typical hero speech about world peace after her first (and admittedly cliché) goal. A small smirk tugged at Yamuraiha's face. She had deduced enough of the Djinn's personality to figure out what she wanted.

" _You won't run away?"_ The Djinn shifted, curious, and Yamuraiha had to restrain the surprise from showing on her features.

A wry smile stretched across her face. "I want to," she admitted, wringing her hands. "But...now that I'm here, I don't think I get that option...do I?"

" _Of course not."_ Hoshia snorted, sounding amused once again. " _I don't want a boring king. Friendship, kindness, love...where do those get you in life? Ambition, cunning, wit. Somebody willing to work hard and do anything to achieve their goals. Don't those sound much better?"_

"I think you might have had better luck with Prince Nicholas," Yamuraiha deadpanned, gesturing out the doors. "He fits your criteria pretty well."

" _That child already shoulders the heavy burden of his country on his shoulders,"_ Hoshia dismissed. " _Putting additional weight would break him."_

Yamuraiha paused for a moment before dipping her head in acknowledgment of the Djinn's point. "True. You've reached a decision, I presume?" the tealette surmised.

" _You will entertain me enough, magician's daughter,"_ Hoshia barked out in laughter, mirth dancing in her eyes. Her crimson eyes, hardly noticeable before despite their shade, darkened a shade. " _Do not disappoint me, my king."_

"I'm not a king," Yamuraiha said suddenly, finding it hard to keep a smirk from appearing on her features. She corrected slyly, straightening her posture and meeting the Djinn directly in the eyes, "I'm a _queen_."

" _So you are, dear. So you are."_

* * *

.

.

 _It had been almost a decade since then,_ Yamuraiha mused. Her fingers grazed against the cool iron tip of her sheathe, staring up at the sky almost contemplatively. It was honestly a wonder, how much things had changed in eight years. The tealette was now seventeen. Her once petite body had grown, and although she was still somewhat short (to her displeasure), she at least didn't have to come up with creative ways to reach high places anymore. Her curves had begun to fill out as well, and Yamuraiha had taken to wear relatively heavy metal armor that covered said curves.

The armor helped when it came to fighting using Hoshia, anyways. And it had been a gift from Nick: she couldn't refuse something from the recently crowned king of Musta'sim. A fond smile unconscious found its way on her face at the thought of the prince...no, her _king._ She had decided to try to change things for the better, since she was already stuck in Musta'sim as their esteemed Dungeon Capturer. Soon enough, Yamuraiha had "convinced" (read: threatened) the former king to abdicate the throne in order for Nick to rise to power.

He was a great king, in all honesty, and had prepared for the position for so long. Ever since they were kids, it was _Nick_ doing a large amount of the paperwork meant for his father. With Yamuraiha by his side as his most loyal advisor, the two quickly rose in both popularity and power. Convincing Nick to kick out Al Tharmen related people was a piece of cake: the green haired royal was smart enough to decipher their ill-willed intentions. When Nick had finally been "crowned" king (although _everyone_ knew he already was the defacto king for a while) at age eighteen, five years ago, Yamuraiha had already established herself as a powerful Dungeon Capturer.

Despite non-too-subtle hints from the other nobles for her to attempt to accumulate more Djinns, like Sinbad and Kouen had in the past few years, Yamuraiha was perfectly satisfied with Hoshia. The Djinn was both her closest friend and the largest thorn in her side.

As if sensing her thoughts, she could feel her hand jerk towards the sheath as if pulled by some invisible force. Scowling, she muttered, "Okay, okay...I get it. You're my best friend, Hoshia. Sort of."

"Talking to Hoshia again?"

She stiffened, body freezing up and muscles taut with anticipation, before she turned around and relaxed at the familiar figure. "Hey, idiot," she acknowledged, warmth leaking into her voice unintentionally as her expression softened.

"Hey, dork." The blonde strolled forward, flicking her forehead and making Yamuraiha frown at him. His sky blue eyes were brimming with amusement as he patted her head patronizingly, almost as if she were a child. With a wry grin, he commented, "You haven't grown at all, huh. _Shortie._ "

"I was _taller_ than you for a long time until you hit that damned growth spurt," Yamuraiha sputtered indignantly, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I'm pretty tall by normal standards! It's not _my_ fault that I'm surrounded by freakishly tall men, Lynn."

At the sound of his name, the blonde seemed to relax a fraction. "Yeah, yeah. Keep making excuses."

"Why are you even _here_?" Yamuraiha gestured around her bewilderedly.

Lynn was an ambassador from Parthevia, and she had first met him two years after conquering Hoshia. At the time, the blonde had simply been a transfer student to Magnoshutatt's Academy who was on a trip with Lord Mogamett to discuss a treaty with Nick. The two had immediately struck it off on the wrong foot, with Yamuraiha claiming that her magnetism abilities from Hoshia were _much_ better than his petty Lightning Magic. Lynn had immediately challenged her to a duel, and the day ended up with a frazzled-looking, half electrocuted Yamuraiha and a rendered-immobile Lynn grudgingly calling it a tie. Eventually, she had heard that the blonde returned to his home country and quickly rose through the ranks.

She met Lynn again about two years ago, when she was fifteen. Calling him "Lord Lynn" was the most debilitating thing she had ever done, in all honesty. She could only take his smug look at hearing her utter the title for a few hours before she finally snapped and poured wine over him during dinner. They became friends afterwards, somehow.

"King Nicholas didn't inform you?" Lynn questioned, sounding moderately surprised. "We decided about this about a month ago."

Ah, that explained it. Nick frequently called in Musta'sim's officials to give a general debriefing of major events that would go on in the next month. Unfortunately, Yamuraiha often chose to use those meetings as her naptime.

(In her defense, Nick always debriefed them in the early hours of the morning. She was goddamn _tired_ , and the green haired king's voice was always soothing enough for her to fall asleep.)

Noting her uncomfortable body language, Lynn rolled his eyes. "You didn't listen to him, did you?" He deadpanned. Yamuraiha shifted the weight of her body from one foot to another, awkwardly shuffling her feet. Sighing and sending a look heavenwards that spelled ' _why must you do this to me?'_ , Lynn explained, "Several high ranking officials from several different countries have been invited to Musta'sim to attend your annual ball. I believe Nick seeks to establish friendly relationships with Balbadd and a few other countries tonight."

"It's _tonight_?" Yamuraiha squeaked, struggling to recall the date.

...ah, yes. It _was_ tonight.

So _that_ was why Mira kept asking Yamuraiha for her measurements. She was probably preparing a proper gown for her.

"Yes, it's tonight," Lynn deadpanned, an unspoken ' _idiot'_ attached to his words. "Don't worry, you don't have to come. Nobody would want to dance with you, anyways."

Her pride immediately roared at the comment. " _Nobody_ , you say?" She repeated dangerously, her tone making the blonde fall silent. Jabbing her finger at his chest and attempting to ignore his towering frame over her, Yamuraiha said furiously, " _Nobody?_ Oh, I'll show you, idiot. Watch me. I'll bet you that I'll have more invitations to dance than _you_ will, for sure."  
"Do you _really_ want to bet that?" Lynn snorted, giving her a cocky grin. "Because I'm willing to accept that bet. You'll definitely lose."

"Good. I can't wait to see your humiliated face when _you_ lose," Yamuraiha sneered.

"But!" Lynn cut in, and she paused. A roguish smirk spread across his face as he leaned down, closer to her. Her body jolted as she felt his warm hand take hers, and a deep scarlet blush spread across her face when she realized that the blonde was _kissing_ her hand.

 _Lynn's kissing my hand._

She stood completely frozen, still in shock.

Stopstopstopstop this was _waaaay_ too much information for her to process right now, she felt as if her head was about to explode—

 _Oh my god. Lynn's kissing my hand._

Her face turned bright red as the blonde pulled away, a _knowing_ and somewhat _triumphant_ look in his eyes as he took in her dazed expression. "Who," he purred, "would refuse _me?"_

 _Oh my god. Oh my god._

Jaw opening and closing, the blush on her cheeks only grew darker as he stared at her with an intensity that she had only seen once before: in their duels. It was that look that Lynn got whenever he was _determined_ to win, at any cost.

 _Oh. My. God._

Her face heated up more.

Yamuraiha felt like a bumbling idiot in all honesty, and it was that thought that snapped her out of her daze.

"Y-y-you...y-you _idiot_!" She managed to stammer out, literally lunging forward and attempting to punch him in the chest. "Wh-wh- _what the hell was that?!"_ Hit. Punch. Hit. Punch.

To his credit, the blonde didn't flinch at all under the weight of her blows. Finally, when she was running out of steam, he stopped her punch in midair and forced for her to look at him directly in the eyes. Her cerulean eyes rounded, mouth forming a small 'o' as pink dusted her cheeks. "You're turning eighteen in a few months, right?" Lynn asked cheerfully, looking unconcerned as she stammered out nonsense.

 _God_ damn _it, Raiha. Get a hold of yourself._

Finally, she collected herself enough that she wouldn't stumble over her words completely. "Yeah, why?" Yamuraiha asked cautiously.

"If I win, come back with me to Parthevia," Lynn proposed.

...

…

 _Don'tblushdon'tblushdon't_ —

...

— _god damn it._

...

"W-what are you saying?" Yamuraiha drew back, her footsteps wobbly. Unfortunately, her balance was thrown off by the sudden movement, and her foot slipped. The blonde ambassador released his grip on her hand and instead lunged forward, grabbing her before she fell and pulling her back up to her feet.

"Exactly what I said," he said quietly, the two's faces separated only by an inch or two of space. His close proximity made it difficult for Yamuraiha to think coherently. ( _Damn it, Raiha,_ stop _blushing and_ do _something.)_

"I...I don't understand."

"I think you do." Another smirk crawled its way on his lips.

…

 _...should she run, hide, or die of embarrassment?_

…

 _...maybe all three._

 _..._

"I...you...you...I...I'm _outofhere_ ," Yamuraiha finally squeaked out, darting off before Lynn could stop her. When she was sure that there was enough distance between her and Lynn, she sighed and sank against one of the castle's marble pillars, cheeks burning. Burying her face in her hands, she let out a muffled groan. "Why is life so complicated?" She bemoaned, knowing that Hoshia was probably sporting a gleeful grin at her king's situation.

( _Somewhere, on the other side of the palace, a certain blonde was groaning and banging his head against a pillar in embarrassment. Mortified, he whispered despairingly, "Oh my_ god _, I can't believe I just did that. Stupid Sera, this was all_ his _idea. Why did I listen? Why_ did _I do that?")_

* * *

After collecting herself, Yamuraiha stumbled upon two walking figures.

... _damn fucking Murphy. Damn. Him. To. Hell._

"Oh God, _he's_ here too?" She complained, inwardly moaning at her luck. Her voice was slightly more high pitched _and_ louder than she intended, and both figures immediately turned around.

"Oh, great. The ugly hag's here."

"I'm only older than you by _two years_ , Sharrkan," Yamuraiha hissed, resisting the urge to throw something at the white haired Heliohapt. What was with men and insulting her looks? "And I am _not_ ugly," she sniffed, arrogance leaking into her tone of voice.

"Keep telling yourself that," Sharrkan shot back. "Stupid magnet chick."

"Idiotic swordsman," Yamuraiha returned.

"You use swords too, _dumbass."_ He gestured at Hoshia incredulously.

"I think _you're_ the one with no brains here. Such a boorish, unrefined _brute_."

"Oh wow, she's pulling out the fancy vocabulary. Give this girl a medal."

"...should I leave?" Masrur, who had been standing uncomfortably between the two, asked awkwardly. Immediately, the two stopped butting heads to look up and bark, " _No!"_

"It's not _my_ fault that you're basically illiterate."

"I'm still the _prince_ of the Heliohapt Kingdom! Of _course_ I can read."

"But do you ever actually read?" At her question, she was met with silence. Crossing her hands over her chest and snorting, she muttered, "Of course not."

"Ugly."

"Stupid."

The two stood like that for a moment before grins broke out on both of their faces.

"Nice to see you again, Yamu," Sharrkan offered, procuring his hand. She took it, albeit reluctantly, and rolled her eyes. Punching him in the arm in a friendly gesture (the white haired man inwardly winced: the tealette could pack a _punch_ ), she found herself smiling.

"You've grown taller," she observed. "Damn it, I was hoping I'd be taller than at least _one_ of the guys I know. Rather than Ja'far. I presume that you two are here for the ball?"

"Sinbad tried to bring all of his Seven Generals," Masrur confirmed. "But Hinahoho, Spartos, and Pisti decided to stay in Sindria."

"So that means...it's just you two, Ja'far, and Sinbad?" Yamuraiha surmised.

"Yep." Sharrkan nodded his head, both of his hands resting casually on the back of his neck.

It had been _extremely_ strange at first to hear "Sinbad and the Seven Generals." Yamuraiha knew that her presence...her _choices_ would impact the Magi world, but it was a whole different thing to actually see it. At first, she had been adamant in avoiding the Magi characters. However, thanks to conquering Hoshia, she was suddenly thrust into the political world as Nick's advisor and trump card. Yamuraiha eventually resigned herself to her fate and decided to interact with the Magi characters naturally.

She met Sinbad and his Generals four years ago, when she followed Nick to Sindria for an important meeting. Yamuraiha had slipped out of the meeting after a few hours of long, boring sweet talk (she would _always_ admire Nick for putting up with such things) and instead toured the city.

Funnily enough, Sinbad had _also_ sneaked out of the meeting, to Ja'far's chagrin. The two met in a rather seedy area of Sindria that resembled a red-light district, right in front of a brothel. Assuming that Yamuraiha was a prostitute, Sinbad had attempted to flirt with her and lure her to bed.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment when Ja'far, Nick, and the rest of the Generals arrived. Mortified, Ja'far immediately explained and introduced Yamuraiha as "Musta'sim's Dungeon Capturer", and Sinbad hastily (and unapologetically) gave her an apology for his actions. It took the combined efforts of Yamuraiha _and_ Ja'far to convince Nick that " _yes, she was alright"_ and " _no, he should_ not _break off their treaty just because Sinbad had attempted to seduce her"_.

Unimpressed with all the arguing going on, Sharrkan had slipped off in the middle of Ja'far's lecturing. Yamuraiha had (unsurprisingly) joined him, and heard the Heliohapt mutter under his breath that she wasn't even _that_ pretty for Sinbad to pick up, anyways. Immediately, she had punched him in the face, and the two quickly settled into a routine of " _insult each other and we're friends."_ Nick and Yamuraiha stayed in Sindria for about a week more after that, and during that time she grew close to most of the Sindrian Generals.

After leaving Sindria, she still kept in contact with most of the Generals through letters, so it didn't really feel like it had been four years since she last saw them.

"You said ' _you too_ ' earlier," Masrur said suddenly, interrupting Yamuraiha's thoughts. She blinked in surprise and tilted her head. The Fanalis clarified, "When you saw Sharrkan. Did you meet someone else already?"

"I saw an old...friend...of mine. His name's Lynn." The name made something flutter in her chest, but at the same time, a scowl settled on her features.

"Ah, Lynn?" Sharrkan immediately brightened. "From Parthevia, right?"

"Mmhm." Yamuraiha was surprised that the swordsman knew of him, considering Sindrian-Parthevian relations, but she supposed anything was possible.

"He was showing me his Lightning Magic last time I saw him. Magic's pretty cool, unlike your shitty magnetism abilities, Yamu," Sharrkan said snidely.

Yamuraiha resisted to grin at the irony of the situation. Oh, she could just _imagine_ how canon Yamuraiha would've taken those words. "Magic's pretty cool," _hah_.

"...wait, did you just call me _Yamu?"_ Yamuraiha suddenly realized. Her eyes narrowed. "I told you, it's either 'Yamuraiha' or 'Raiha,' not _Yamu_." It was almost a running gag now, and Yamuraiha...couldn't actually find herself to care much about the titles she was addressed by. "Raiha," "Yamuraiha," even "Elliot" — all three were just... _her._

"Yamu rolls off the tongue better. I have no idea what you have against that nickname, but I'm not changing my speech just to make you more comfortable," Sharrkan rolled his eyes, sticking out his tongue very maturely. Yamuraiha scowled at him, punching him (playfully) in the shoulder. His hands shoved firmly in his pockets, he mumbled under his breath, "Besides, it suits you."

"...what?"

"N-nothing," Sharrkan defended immediately, gesturing wildly towards the palace. "Anyways, don't you need to go inside and get ready for the ball?"

"Ah, you're right," Yamuraiha realized. Nodding at the two, she whipped around and hurried off, calling over her shoulder, "Trust me, my appearance is going to blow you away. You'll be _begging_ for a dance by the end of tonight."

(If she had been closer, she would've heard Sharrkan mutter, " _There's no doubt about it"_ while blushing madly under Masrur's scrutiny. _)_

* * *

"I look _pretty_ , Mira," Yamuraiha breathed, staring at the mirror in awe. Whatever witchcraft her attendant might've done certainly did the trick. Stretching from her neck and down to her bodice was a heavy golden chest piece, encrusted with dark violet amethyst. Beginning as a warm navajo white, the ripples of silky fabric grew darker and darker until they were a heavy rouge. Her bodice was a beautiful shade of cosmic violet, and amethyst earrings hung from her ears. On her forehead rested a red jewel hanging from a golden chain. Together with her teal locks that were left down to flow down her waist freely, the colors combined to make her look almost as regal as a princess.

Although Yamuraiha had never been a vain creature, wearing such an outfit boosted her confidence in a way that no kind of sword could. The feeling of being _attractive_ wasn't a completely foreign idea, but she had pushed aside such frivolities for the sake of Musta'sim for such a long time that it almost felt like she had undergone a complete metamorphosis.

"No, you're _stunning_ ," Mira corrected, her face glowing with pride. The blonde haired woman was also wearing a dress due to Yamuraiha's insistence. The dress, a light sea green, brought out the emerald shade of Mira's eyes. Its tight fitting bodice served well in accentuating the woman's lithe curves. Despite the fact that Yamuraiha had the more expensive dress, courtesy of Nick (" _You can't let a servant outdress you, no matter how close you are.")_ , the tealette honestly felt that her attendant was much more physically attractive. "You've grown so much, Yamu."

"I love you so much right now," Yamuraiha said in a hushed tone. "This...this is... _amazing._ You made me look so...so...so _gorgeous_."

"You're _always_ gorgeous, Yamu. You just don't notice," Mira giggled, patting the younger girl's head fondly. "Now, King Nicholas is coming to get you."

That comment threw Yamuraiha out of her reverie. She blinked, stupefied. "Why?" The question slipped out of her lips before she could stop it.

"You're his escort for tonight, silly," Mira rolled her eyes. "Weren't you paying attention at all? He announced it during the debriefing the other day. He said that he already asked you."

"Oh. Really?"

Yamuraiha searched through her memories before finally recalling that Nick _had_ asked her for something the other day. She wasn't really paying attention at the time, though, and just murmured "alright" without thinking much of it.

 _Oh, whoops._

"So...what exactly do we royal escorts have to do?" Yamuraiha asked meekly.

"...I shouldn't even be surprised anymore," Mira shook her head exasperatedly. She explained, "You and King Nicholas have to open the ball with a dance, that's all. After that, you're free to do whatever you wish, since the king probably has guests to attend to."

"Alright." Yamuraiha nodded at the simple explanation. Dunya had tutored her and Nick about how to dance before: this should be a piece of cake. Assuming that Yamuraiha could still recall dance lessons from four years ago. Hopefully Nick remembered what to do, because if not, they were utterly screwed.

There was a knock on the door before Histok's voice rang out, "His Majesty, King Nicholas II has come to pick up Lady Yamuraiha."  
Mira opened the door immediately, squealing and hugging the black haired palace guard. " _Histok_ , you dressed up! Oh, you look so handsome! Stay by my side during the ball, alright? Otherwise all the ladies will be all over you."

Yamuraiha lingered awkwardly at the doorway, fiddling with her dress. She looked up and met eyes with Nick, and for a moment, it felt as if those cliche phrases like "the world froze" seemed to actually exist. There was something intense in the king's gaze that kept her from looking away or moving. Almost nervously, she tugged on the neckline of her dress awkwardly.

The silence was broken when Nick said quietly, "You look...beautiful."

 _Beautiful._

"Stunning," "gorgeous," "pretty" — all of those adjectives seemed to pale in comparison at that one word.

 _Beautiful._

She felt her cheeks warm.

"You look rather attractive yourself," she offered casually, breaking the tension that had unknowingly permeated the room. Unconsciously, her eyes swept down his fine clothes of violet silk and she let out a small noise of appreciation. _Mm, yes, purple was definitely his color._

"If you were any other girl…" Nick shook his head, looking fairly amused.

"...you wouldn't have had me as your right hand woman in the first place," Yamuraiha finished cheerfully. Suddenly, her entire body language shifted as she drew closer to the green haired king, placing her hand on his cheek and leaning in closer. Her eyelashes fluttered coquettishly as she purred sultrily, "But...if you'd like for me to act like _other girls_ , your Highness, all you had to do was _ask_."

"Never do that again," Nick ordered, pushing her hand back and stepping back two steps. His face was a tad bit more red than before, but rather than that, she was pleased to see that the king didn't look _that_ flustered.

"You have to get used to women flirting with you, Nick." Yamuraiha snorted. "You're a king, still single, and drop-dead gorgeous. Oh, don't give me that look: you know it too, you're hot. If you blush like that _every_ time that a girl makes a move on you, you'll be married by next week."

"I don't blush like that with _every_ girl," Nick mumbled. Under his breath, a quiet "only you" slipped past his lips.

" _Suuuure_ you don't," Yamuraiha drawled, unaware of the king's quiet murmuring. Sighing and causally linking arms with the green haired man, she said, "Alright, alright. Let's get going to the ball: I heard the other guests can't dance until we do, right? We can't keep them waiting forever."

"How considerate of you," Nick commented, a wry grin spreading over his face. The two turned to the exit only to see Mira and Histok standing and sporting knowing smirks.

" _What_?" Yamuraiha demanded. Nick locked eyes with Histok before turning bright red and tugging her towards the ballroom.

"It's nothing, let's go," Nick mumbled.

* * *

"May I present King Nicholas II of Musta'sim and Lady Yamuraiha, Dungeon Conqueror!"

Immediately, applause rang out in the ballroom. Yamuraiha glanced to her left: Nick was looking incredibly composed, despite the large number of important officials and kings present. Matching his steady footsteps with calm and elegant strides, Yamuraiha leaned over and whispered, "You remember how to dance, right?"

Nick sent her an amused, somewhat strained smile as they felt several scrutinizing gazes on them. "You haven't been practicing after I announced that we'd have a ball?"

She coughed awkwardly. That was enough of an answer for her longtime friend.

"...you weren't listening, were you?" Nick deadpanned.

"Of course I was, who do you take me for?" Yamuraiha asked arrogantly. Nick stared at her knowingly. She stared back evenly. Then, her shoulders slacked and she sighed, admitting, "...yeah, I wasn't."

"That sounds like you." Nick sighed. Nodding his head at the musicians, he put his hand on her waist and offered his hand to her. Without even thinking, she moved closer, one hand resting on his shoulder and the other taking his.

"Waltz? How classic," she commented dryly, and as the music started, her feet followed his footsteps automatically. To her surprise, her body moved instinctively, almost intuitively knowing where the king would step next. She glanced down at her feet, only to feel a slight tug on her hand.

"Focus on me," Nick instructed.

"I...uh...alright," she said lamely, lifting her gaze so that she could stare at his stormy gray orbs. "Nice...music?"

He sent her an amused look. "You are absolutely _terrible_ at small-talk."  
"Thank you," she deadpanned, feeling his hands shift. Taking his cue, she released one of his hands and twirled in a circle easily thanks to his guiding hand. Her dress billowed outwards, the fabric completely mesmerizing as violet hues shifted to rose pink. Seamlessly, they joined hands and continued sweeping across the floor in several elegant strides.

"I think it's time to let our guests dance," Nick murmured, spinning her once more. "You have my full permission to leave the ball, now, if you'd like. I need to meet with some guests."

"Balbadd?" she guessed accurately, the king nodding. "Well, although formal events like these are hardly my thing...I made a bet with Lynn that I'd get more dances than him. I'll be around if you want to dance another round."

Nick's lips twitched upwards. "Noted. Raiha, you respect me...right?"

"To an extent," Yamuraiha allowed, the corners of her lips turning upwards. "Why?"

"Then promise me you won't kill me."

"I...won't?" She agreed hesitantly, eyebrows scrunching together in confusion. "Wait, why would I want to kill y—"

Before she could utter another word, the green haired royal spun her quickly and let go, sending her spiraling off right into one of their guests.

"I...ow...Nick is going to _pay_ later." Wincing, she glanced upwards and apologized, "Sorry about that... _Sinbad?_ "

"No need to apologize, dancing with a beautiful woman is _always_ welcomed," Sinbad winked at her, easily repositioning her hands to their proper places. Yamuraiha instinctively fell back into proper closed position as the two began to dance to the music. "Have you considered my offer, yet?"

"You mean the offer about being one of your Generals that I have rejected _several_ times?" Yamuraiha deadpanned.

"Everyone would _love_ to see you~" Sinbad sang, swinging her to his left. There was something about Sinbad's movements that made it so _easy_ to play the follower. Although his dancing wasn't as graceful as Nick's, there was a much more _free_ and casual quality to it that had her fighting to keep a grin off of her face.

"You dance well," Yamuraiha complimented. "I guess Ja'far really _does_ work miracles."  
"I'm hurt," Sinbad pouted, sending her a mock-wounded look. Without warning, he spun her around in a circle. Not even a beat later, the two were moving once more, cutting through other dancing couples easily, despite the crowded space. "It was all me, you know."

"I'd be more inclined to believe that if I hadn't heard the opposite from Pisti's letters," Yamuraiha replied cheerfully. Her carefree expression melted as she glanced to the side of the room, where Nick was striking up conversation with the King of Balbadd. "But I doubt you accepted Nick's invitation just to dance with me, Sin. You have business to do here, I can't keep you all night."

"Trust me, I would _not_ protest if you kept me up all night," Sinbad said flirtatiously before slowing down his pace, gently raising her hand and kissing it. "But alas, you're right. I must bid you goodbye for now, but fear not, beautiful maiden. You are welcome to approach me anytime tonight."

"Yes, I will _definitely_ take you upon your offer," Yamuraiha deadpanned, but couldn't help the slightly flirtatious side of her that surfaced. "Or instead of me coming to Sindria, you could always stay at Musta'sim with me. I _assure_ you that it'd be... _worth_ it," she purred, taking delight in Sinbad's slightly dumbstruck expression before she laughed lightly. " _Kidding_ , Sin. _Kidding._ If you take that comment seriously…"

" _Weeeelll,_ " Sinbad said thoughtfully, drawing out the word.

"Oh, screw you." She punched his shoulder, shoving him towards Nick and the various political officials standing off to the side.

"That can be arranged!" Sinbad called over his shoulder, sending her one last flirtatious grin before he joined a conversation with several ambassadors.

Intending on turning around and convincing somebody else to dance with her, Yamuraiha's jaw dropped as she spotted a certain masked figure slinking forwards. "Holy shit, _not_ good," she mumbled to herself, glancing over at Nick. After weeding out and banishing any Al Tharmen linked government officials, the tealette had figured that their country was relatively safe.

She knew that Nick himself probably oversaw the security measures for this ball, considering its importance and the amount of influential officials attending.

 _They were finally striving towards peace._

It wasn't perfect, but this ball was a sign of _promise._

If she allowed the suspicious-figure-she-suspected-to-be-part-of-Al-Tharmen to do whatever they wanted, they could have an international political crisis on their hands. Slowly, she approached the Al Tharmen member lingering around the punch with a friendly smile. "May I have this dance?"

" _You_ ," the man snarled.

"Me," Yamuraiha agreed amiably. "We're taking this battle out of here. I don't suppose you'll tell me if there's more of you?"

"You're the reason he purged us," the Al Tharmen member drew his weapon, drawing gasps from the crowd. "You, abnormality, will die."

"Not today." And without any further ado, Yamuraiha lashed out, barely even thinking as she unsheathed Hoshia and sent the man flying out of the window. Heh, wearing metal when trying to attack _her._ Idiots. Noting the eyes on her, Yamuraiha performed a dramatic bow and winked, using over exaggerated casualness to reassure them. As soon as most of those eyes had receded, she hurried out of the ballroom to where she pinned the man, hissing at the guards under her breath, "Security breach!"

She found the Al Tharmen member pinned to one of the palace columns, decorated with iron. The columns were specifically designed to suit her powers: as long as Yamuraiha was around and aware of threats, it was hard for any assassinates to penetrate the palace.

"Listen up, you," she growled, thrusting her sword and narrowly avoiding skewering the man. Instead, she lunged forward and grabbed the man by his neck, effectively cutting off his air supply. "I've worked my _ass off_ to ensure this kind of peace. I don't give a shit about whatever the hell Gyokuen or Arba or _whoever the hell_ you're following wants. I'm protecting my goddamn country and this god forsaken world: that vow includes both internal _and_ external threats. Talk now or I'm going to fucking screw Kou over, you piece of _shit."_

A little more bitterness seeped into her voice than she would've liked. She slackened her grip ever so slightly.

"You," the man hissed, gasping for air. "Will die."

"Eventually," she conceded, "but not today."

"You...will die…"

"Charming."

"...will die…"

"Are you going to fucking _speak_ or—"

"Raiha, _get away!"_

Yamuraiha had barely a second to register someone darting in front of her before the man _exploded._

She gasped, heart pounding. "Did I ever mention I appreciate you and your magic? Because I'll say it now: _I appreciate you and your magic,_ don't be fooled by my tsundere ranting," she rambled, clinging onto Lynn's sleeve and aptly hiding behind his powerful Borg. "Dammit, I _knew_ I should've went to Magnoshutatt anyways. Dungeon Capturers can't be magicians, _heh._ I could've been the first…"

"Shut up, Yamu."

Yamuraiha blinked, then tilted her head. "Sharrkan?" she identified the figure to her right. "Whaddya doing here? Do you have a sunburn?"

"Wha—?"

"Because you're _hot,"_ she giggled, swatting at his arm. Sharrkan did not react to her very amazing pickup line, unfortunately, instead panicking and grabbing her arm before she could finally reunite with the ground.

 _Ahh...the world's sideways…_

* * *

Lynn cursed. "Poison. A hallucinogen, perhaps."

"Musta'sim has healers," Sharrkan said tightly, hoisting Yamuraiha to her feet and intelligently snatching Hoshia from her hands before she could stab herself. The bluenette _giggled_. Sweetly. Lynn looked as if he was either going to off himself or spontaneously combust of embarrassment. Perhaps both. "Can you call them?"

"There's no need: they're already here."

Both men turned and immediately inclined their heads. "King Nicholas," Lynn acknowledged, swallowing back his fear. "You'll help her?"

The King gave them a deadpan expression. "She's Musta'sim's prized Dungeon Capturer _and_ my precious friend. Whom do you take me for?"

The doors to the ballroom burst open, and out came running a red-faced Musta'sim princess. "I'm here, brother!" exclaimed Princess Dunya, nearly tripping over her long robes in her haste to reach them. "Hurry, you should return to the ballroom before the other guests catch wind of this incident and panic."

"You mean an explosion wasn't enough?" Sharrkan asked dryly, blinking in surprise as the tiny princess easily grabbed Yamuraiha out of his arms and dragged her along the hallway.

"I convinced them it was one of her stupid duels again," Dunya explained tersely, tugging their giggling companion along.

"Stupid? Who are you callin' stupid?" Yamuraiha whined. "I'm _smart,_ dammit."

"Yes, yes. We know."

"I beat Nick at chess yesterday. Twice."

"Congratulations," Lynn commented dryly, helping Dunya lower the tealette onto a cot in the infirmary. "Now, sit still while the princess works her magic."

"It's _science,"_ Dunya corrected, quickly pulling out a needle. "Now, I need both you gentlemen to keep Raiha still. _Very_ still. She can stir up quite a racket while under, you know. Last time, we needed four guards to subdue her."

Yamuraiha _giggled_ again. "Oh, I wouldn't mind being... _subdued_ right now," she purred, hand trailing along Sharrkan's chest while simultaneously giving Lynn her best smolder.

Dunya cackled at the men's expressions.

* * *

" _Ohmygod I almost caused an international incident."_

"You _didn't,"_ Nick emphasized, exasperated.

"Sinbad sent me a get-well card. _Sinbad!_ The guy who literally finds himself in trouble all the time and manipulates his friends without a second thought," Yamuraiha exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air and groaning. "That man is such an enigma, I'll tell you. Fucking special snowflakes."

"Language," Dunya reprimanded, sipping a cup of tea as she watched her brother and friend play chess.

"And Lynn! Lynn wouldn't even _talk_ to me for the rest of his stay here. And _Sharrkan_ too! What the hell _happened?"_

Dunya giggled. "Oh, I wish there was some way of recording it," she murmured dreamily. "You three were quite the sight."

"Dunya…" Yamuraiha squinted. " _Please_ don't tell me I had a threesome with them."

"Noooo…"

"Foursome?"

"No…."

"F—"

" _Why the hell are you two discussing sex so casually in front of me?"_ Nick cried, slamming his king against the chessboard while blushing furiously. Giving them the equivalent of a middle finger in the Magi world, he scowled and swiftly pivoted on his heel, exiting the room with a flourish.

Dunya and Yamuraiha exchanged looks before breaking out in giggles, high fiving.

This world wasn't...ideal, necessarily, but…

...she treasured it. All the experiences she'd gone through, all the people she had met…

...she would protect this world, magician or not.

* * *

 **I MARATHONED AND FINISHED THE ENTIRE MAGI MANGA FOR YOU PEOPLE.**

 **I read all 369 chapters just so I could get back into this.** **Ahhh, that was a productive Saturday. ;) I send my everlasting love to you all.**

 **Part of this was already written, but I finished the rest and it's like half crack and half HISHE LOL. This wasn't fully proofread in my haste to finish it for Valentine's.**

 **Hey, so I haven't gotten the chance to reply to reviews yet! I'll do so by this weekend for sure :) There's a lot of interesting points I've read, but I have exams this week so I should really be focusing on them. I'm sorry! I promise I read them all, I just want to make sure I give you all the attention you deserve.**

 **HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! I love you all :)**

 **Drop a review if you have time lol! I think I included most of the ships you all like ahaha so there's the romance/fluff for you dorky romance-deprived shippers.**


	21. Chapter 18

_A/N:_

 _ **If too lazy, look at the bold.**_

 _Hello, hello. Welcome! I will be ex~tre~me~ly busy the upcoming weeks, so_ _ **I can't guarantee an update date. It will come, though**_ _. I'm very excited about the next chapter ohoho~_

 _I'll address some_ _ **concerns**_ _in the reviews here!_

 _For plot purposes, **Magnoshutatt is already a new, separate country** that's currently at war with Musta'sim. This is the main reason that the King of Musta'sim allows her to study in the Academy. Revolt's still a threat, however, due to internal Musta'sim conflict._

 _This story is **not abandoned**. :) Thanks to all of you. No, really._

 _This story will **not include any spoilers from SnB raws** : any SnB plot points will be from the **current English scans**. That being said, **anything in Magi is fair game**._

 _Three central plot twists ahead in the near future! Plot twist number one is this chapter._

 _The story will be **mostly angst in the upcoming chapters**. I make no apologies._

 _Sera's a sweet sunshine child who deserves the best, and everyone knows it and loves him._ _I admit I'm biased when it comes to Lynn: he's a dork._ _Mogamett and Yamuraiha, while not the daughter-father duo from canon, are currently in an amiable mentor-ish friendship. Unfortunately, Raiha's too touchy to establish deeper bonds._

 _Lastly, thanks to my recent marathon of the entire Magi manga again, I have planned out most of the changes to canon that will be made._

 _ **Prepare yourself: while this won't go completely AU, and Magi plot points may be preserved, this story's going to build a lot more on the manga. I don't just want to write a transcript: I want to write a story.**_

 _ **Particularly, the whole "not a special snowflake in reincarnation" theory will be playing a major role. :D Have fun!**_

 _Please note that as intelligent as I try to portray myself, I'm a nerd who overlooks points sometimes. Feel free to point out my oversights._

Thank you to TheRandomGirl, najamuzen, lizyeh2000, Evanescentfacade, LovelyPolkaDots, Heitor, Dragondancer81, Water Bear, Miquila, Reincheck, BOSS02109, kalmaegi, Bergholt Stuttley Johnson, and EmeraldAwesome14 for your reviews! I'm glad to see you're still on board. :)

 _._

 _._

* * *

.

News in Magnoshutatt spread quickly. Yamuraiha "Raiha" Ajam, resident child genius, was the daughter of "Meira" and "Yasin." Apparently, her parents had been very popular in their youth, for she couldn't go _anywhere_ without somebody calling out her name.

 _Yamuraiha this, Yamuraiha that. Oh, I knew your parents! You're just like them._

Even the guy who examined her paperwork from _way back when_ came to congratulate her for discovering her heritage, patting her on the back and regaling her of her parents' impressive feats of magic. She knew that she was being selfish; that she should feel _relieved_ and _interested_ in learning about her brilliant parents, but...

She didn't want to be _Yamuraiha:_ here, she was supposed to be _Raiha._

She smiled anyways. "Of course you may call me that," she answered, staring at Sera with fond, twinkling eyes. He had avoided her for the past week, stewing over her newly revealed name. This was the first time he had approached her since then, and she'd do _anything_ to have him back.

"Cool," Sera said, relieved. He shoved his hands in his pockets awkwardly, mouth curving upwards. "Yamuraiha...heh, it suits you." He hesitated, then blurted out, "Hey, can you promise me something?"

"Mm?"

"No more secrets."

She didn't hesitate, feeling like a fraud as she grinned sheepishly at him. "No more secrets," she echoed in agreement, eyes shining with false sincerity.

* * *

"I wanted to be someone different!"

Her hands were trembling. She forced herself to swallow, hands clawing desperately at her arms in an attempt to stop her shivering. Her words came out as a whisper, hoarse and raw. "I wanted to _change."_

Yamuraiha was her second chance. _Raiha_ was her chance at a blank slate, her chance at a new life without the baggage of Elliot. And here she was, screwing things up again. She smiled, lips wobbling as she inspected herself. A confession slipped from her lips. "I wanted to be different. Be better than El."

Her reflection smiled patronizingly at her. The smile was a crooked, twisted perversion of the smile she remembered, and somehow this infuriated her more. She gritted her teeth, tasting copper.

"You're a bitch."

Her reflection smirked, but its eyes looked almost watery.

"Fuck," she laughed, stumbling backwards, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her lips twitched upwards. "You're a mess, El. A complete and utter mess."

Her reflection was laughing at her, too.

"I keep running away." Her breath hitched. "I ran away back then, too."

Her reflection watched her, silent as a mime. Like always.

"I can't run away, can I?" Her shoulders trembled in silent laughter. "I keep trying, but everything keeps catching up to me. I can't escape from fate."

Her reflection laughed silently.

"I'm mad," she said to it. "I'm deranged. I'm broken, I'm glass but I keep trying to be steel. Why do I do this?"

She received no answer.

"I'm broken and the only people who could've picked up the pieces are gone," she rambled, fingernails digging into her skin. She clutched onto her wrist as if it was a lifeline, refusing to let go. She laughed again, picking up a piece of parchment and contemplating what to write for a moment. "They're gone because I left them."

Then, she giggled hysterically and bundled the blank parchment as it was, making a mental note to send it to Musta'sim later.

* * *

"Are you alright, Raiha?" Lynn asked, noting the tealette's unusual silence as he sat down next to her in the mess hall. She was staring at her plate in deep thought, one that she usually only had when contemplating new theories with Sera. There was something _wrong_ about her expression that he couldn't place: Lynn didn't know how or why, but her smile unnerved him.

"Hm?" She blinked, glancing up at him and flashing him that same _(fake)_ smile. "Yeah."

Lynn wasn't fully convinced, but relented under her gaze and began eating. Sera and Alyasa were in the middle of examinations for Group B, so the only sound during their meal was the clinking of silverware.

They had just finished their silent meal when she asked, "Why won't you call me Yamu or Yamuraiha like everyone else?"

There was something _heavy_ behind her words, which made Lynn reconsider his instinctual reply that was definitely not tactful. Instead of answering directly, he settled on a question. "Do you _want_ to be called Yamuraiha?" Lynn asked curiously, tilting his head. She stiffened, then shook her head ever so slightly.

He paused, something heavy settling on his chest before he spoke the truth.

"To me, you're Raiha," he answered, shrugging. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shoulders slack; from relief or weariness, he wasn't sure. He continued, "Snarky, conceited, arrogant, determined, accepting, brilliant Raiha. That's who you are to me, no matter who your parents are."

Lynn stared off in the distance, shutting his eyes. _A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.._.that had been _her_ favorite quote. The memory of the first person who taught him magic threatened to consume him, but Raiha's presence anchored him and kept him from being swept away by a wave of nostalgia.

It took her several moments to absorb his words, but when she did, a small smile curled on her lips. "Snarky, conceited, and arrogant?" Raiha echoed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you sure you aren't describing yourself? Idiot."

"Touche," Lynn retorted, but he understood anyways. "Moron, Yamu's too girly of a name for you, anyways."

"I can be girly!" Raiha protested, eliciting a laugh from him. "Stupid," she added as an afterthought.

 _Thank you,_ she meant.

Lynn understood, nodding his head and closing his eyes wearily. _Message received._

* * *

"I can't believe he almost _drowned_ you, though, Yamuraiha," Sera fussed, prodding and poking her as if his actions would somehow make her feel better. Granted, his attention certainly warmed something in her chest. "I thought Erik was a good teacher, for goodness' sake."

"He _is_ a good teacher," Yamuraiha answered, rolling her eyes and huffing. "It taught me a good lesson of humility, and _technically_ he was just deflecting my own spell. He just didn't expect me to react so badly."

"Why did you react so badly anyways?" Alyasa scolded. "For pity's sake, you're a Blue Magician."

"I can't swim." The lie slipped easily off her tongue. Although she _technically_ hadn't swum in this life, swimming was like breathing to Elliot, who had grown up near the sea. (The irony of that statement almost made her laugh aloud.)

"Uh- _huh,"_ Alyasa said, unconvinced, but she let the matter go. "It doesn't seem as if there's anything wrong with you, but maybe I should check with Shinya to see—"

"I'm _fine,"_ Yamuraiha emphasized. "I just panicked. No harm done, and it's been a week. In fact, I should probably check in with Erik right now in case the idiot's blaming himself. Or, you know, I should probably check in with Mogamett and convince him that it was an accident."

"Done."

All three of them turned to the right, spotting an approaching Lynn sporting a smug grin and hands shoved in his pockets. "I already talked with Mogamett, and you have an appointment with Erik at eight. No commenting anything about my hair for the next week, you hear me?

"Deal," Yamuraiha accepted grudgingly. "Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah," Lynn waved off her comment easily. "Anyways, I heard that your prince's coronation is coming up soon, right?"

An electrifying shiver ran down her spine at the sudden mention of Nick. Yamuraiha kept her expression carefully blank and uninterested.

"You mean _Musta'sim's_ prince," Alyasa corrected, latching onto Yamuraiha's arm idly. Seeing Sera's confused look, she elaborated, "Prince Nicholas III. And it's not really soon: it's in three months."

"How do you know that?" Sera asked curiously, looking a bit put out. "And why do _you_ know about that too, Lynn?"

"Rumor mill," Lynn explained at the same time that Alyasa said, "My father."

"I believe that's correct?" Yamuraiha's eyebrows creased in mild thought. Absentmindedly, she shrugged. "I don't really pay attention to what goes on there, now."

She was almost disgusted at herself for how easy it was to lie to her friends. Almost.

* * *

"Check."

Silence.

The scraping of wood against wood.

"Be more careful."

Silence.

"Yamuraiha…"

"Understood, sir."

* * *

"I'm sorry."

"I know."

They sat in silence, then Erik ventured, "Would you like to talk about it, Elliot?"

"Not really. Not now." _Please._

It was silent. Then:

"Alright."

Her shoulders sagged with relief. "Thanks."

* * *

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _My friend,_

 _I know that Father told us we shouldn't write to you, but I think there's something wrong._

 _Certain people are growing restless with each passing day. I miss you, my friend. I fear there's something wrong...very wrong. But Father won't listen, and Nick is constantly swamped with work - I can't bear to add to his burden. Isaac's ears only reach as far as mine, since he always accompanies me, and everyone else doesn't know anything either._

 _They think I'm crazy, but I'm not. I might be young, but you and Nick have rubbed off on me enough to have a good sixth sense. I don't know what I should do._

 _I'm sorry for selfishly writing to you when you should be concentrating on your studies. I hope you're doing well._

 _Remember to take care of yourself._

 _Your flower-weaving friend._

.

.

.

Dunya's letter alarmed Yamuraiha more than the mint-haired princess probably knew.

It also impressed her.

Apparently, she and Nick had rubbed off on the princess more than either of them realized. The letter was vague, unaddressed, and mentioned no names except "Isaac" and "Nick" — a diminutive nickname that nobody would think to link with the crown prince of Musta'sim. "Isaac," a common name in both Musta'sim and Magnoshutatt, was hardly worth any attention. Dunya's words were vague enough that only Yamuraiha would really discern what she meant, and the letter had been passed through multiple hands before finally being delivered to her by a civilian trader who obviously didn't know of its importance.

"Love letter?" Alyasa asked from her bed, hardly looking up.

Yamuraiha snorted. "As if: it's just a letter from an old friend."

Alyasa peered at her curiously. "I didn't know you _had_ old friends."

"A letter from one of the Musta'sim servants, hoping that I was doing well," Yamuraiha answered, the lie slipping off her tongue smoothly. "They helped me escape, you know. Although it's foolish of them to send it to me; if they were caught, I don't know what kind of consequences they might have invoked."

"You still correspond with them?"

"No, but I guess preparing for the crown prince's coronation made them nostalgic or something." Yamuraiha shrugged, tossing the paper into the fireplace with feigned ease. "They doubt that I made any friends."

Alyasa laughed. "With _your_ attitude? I'd say their worries are justified."

"That hurts," Yamuraiha returned, faking mock-pain, noting out of the corner of her eye that the letter had been completely incinerated. Alyasa rolled her eyes, but grunted and hefted her bed covers over herself, turning around to sleep. Yamuraiha mirrored her motions, turning off the lights.

Inwardly, her mind raced with plans.

Dunya was obviously referring to the royal court. For some reason, Nick's approaching coronation struck a wrong nerve with them. Yamuraiha personally couldn't figure out _why:_ despite his age, Nick had been practically ruling the country (via doing paperwork) for the past few years, anyways. He was the only reason why Musta'sim's economy had not collapsed completely.

The living conditions of the people had improved: Yamuraiha had made sure to stress the importance of general welfare to Nick. The poverty of the people had been the main cause of the revolt in canon, after all. Nick had swiftly installed new education systems, care networks, and shelters to Yamuraiha's immense pride. They were still in their beginning stages, but it was _something._ Even those in Magnoshutatt grudgingly agreed that the prince had promise.

But, as in all political matters, not all would be satisfied. In giving to the people, Nick had obviously not curried favors with the nobles. Before, most of Musta'sim's wealth and power had been centralized around the nobles. The majority of state taxes had been levied on the poor, allowing the land-owning nobles to grow wealthier and more powerful.

That power had dwindled enormously as Nick levied new taxes on the upper class. She even heard rumors of Nick proposing a more diverse legislature, where not only the nobles but the peasants would have representatives.

Such a notion was unheard of in this world. Bless his heart, Nick had been listening to Yamuraiha's near-treasonous rambles in the darkest depths of the night.

Nick was changing Musta'sim and the world for the better. If this was a result of her abnormality, a consequence of her existence, she'd take it. Yamuraiha thought that her presence was actually doing some good.

But God, it couldn't just be that simple, could it?

Al Tharmen. They weren't the sole cause of this unrest, but she was sure they still played a crucial role in it. The main problem with Musta'sim's army was that they worked similar to feudal Japan: each lord had his own soldiers which rallied under them, and those lords would herald to the "emperor," or "king" in this case. Nick couldn't do much in regards to the military: his father was still in charge, technically, and ruled those matters with an iron fist. Once Nick took over the throne, however, he'd undoubtedly abolish such a system and work to negotiate treaties with Musta'sim. She knew he would.

If the nobles managed to gather enough supporters before that, they would undoubtedly be able to take over the throne. And unfortunately enough, even though plenty loved their king for his new changes, many still were wary of having such a young ruler creating so many changes. And they hated Magnoshutatt with a fury.

She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let all of these radical changes go to waste, just like the works of so many other enlightened rulers.

They would make their move on his coronation. She _knew_ it, she _felt it._

The only thing Yamuraiha could do in her position was end the war. If she ended the war in time, before Nick's coronation, it would sway some to believe in Musta'sim (and therefore, Nick's) strength. It'd also rob the nobles of their excuse for disapproving of Nick: they insisted that putting a new monarch on the throne during wartime was unwise, and were "unsure" about the young prince's strength. If the war ended, it would be harder to overthrow him. Throwing a coup during wartime was one thing...throwing a coup during peacetime would cause a revolt, especially considering Nick's newfound popularity among the working class.

They couldn't negotiate a peaceful treaty with Magnoshutatt, either. It'd paint Nick as a weak leader and would be the _perfect_ justification for the nobles to overthrow him.

They _had_ to crush Magnoshutatt as soon as possible using whatever forces necessary: blackmail _or_ brute strength. It would solidify Nick's power and pacify the majority of the nobles.

Yamuraiha wasn't going to let tens of thousands of deaths, the happiness of a country, and the lives of her Musta'sim friends lie on her shoulders.

If ending the war took betraying her friends, new country, and new home, then so be it.

.

* * *

 _"We're naturally stupid and have an inclination to doing heroic stuff. Unfortunately, those with hero complexes usually fail epically unless they have plot armor. And considering I'm not very plot worthy, I think it'd be best if I did something logical."_

* * *

.

Yamuraiha was perched on top of one of the buildings, gaze firmly on the ground. She had been observing the guard rotation patterns for the past two weeks, and after lengthy internal debates, figured out a plan of action.

Hidden inside the heavily guarded building was all of Magnoshutatt's research about Dark Rukh. If Yamuraiha released such research to the world, she _knew_ that other countries would have to react; the research was, essentially, the _ideal_ blackmail material.

One of the guards glanced upwards, but took no notice of her. A grim, somewhat triumphant smile slid on her face. Her invisibility spell worked; it had taken a week to perfect the spell despite Yamuraiha's explanation and analysis of the spell in canon. _That_ woman was a true magic genius, unlike "Raiha." She just bullshitted well.

She had waited two months for some kind of response from Nick. _Anything._ She even tried sending a message to Dunya, using all methods possible: Wind Magic, Space-Time Magic (and wasn't _that_ a pain), and even a normal courier system (using several messengers, of course: she wasn't going to let that note be traced back to her).

But she hadn't gotten _any_ response.

Either something was dreadfully wrong in Musta'sim or someone was intercepting her messages. Both of those possibilities sent a shiver down her spine.

 _This is just for insurance,_ she reassured herself. _If I make a copy and leave the original documents in there, it's not really stealing._

Hah, she could lie well even to herself.

But if blackmailing Mogamett meant saving the lives of her Musta'sim friends and thousands of civilians, then so be it. As selfish as it sounded, Yamuraiha _didn't_ care for countries: she cared for individuals. She had faith that the few she cared about in Magnoshutatt would prevail: they were strong. _(They_ had _to be, right? They were. She had to believe it, or they'd be another weight on her shoulders. Another sin she had committed; more blood on her hands.)_

Her body tensed as the four guards nodded at each other, waving in the distance to the approaching guards that would take over their shift.

 _Now was the time to strike._

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

One of the guards shouted loudly, and Yamuraiha cursed, thinking she was caught. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a figure dart out of the building's window, shattering the glass and hopping on the rooftops. Behind them, the glass repaired itself, each shard molding together until the window looked as if it had never been broken.

With rounded eyes, Yamuraiha cursed and strengthened her invisibility spell, darting after them and calling forth the winds to help her keep up.

They definitely knew what they were doing: the wind propelled them forward as they nimbly dashed past the rooftops and slipped into a tavern. Yamuraiha followed them, lunging past the patrons of the bar and exiting through the back door just in time to see the figure turn the corner. She darted forward, only to have a hand grab her throat.

"Who are you and how have you been tracking me?" they demanded, shocking her as she felt her invisibility spell fade away.

Yamuraiha would've given some kind of sarcastic retort if she hadn't recognized the voice. Unfortunately, she _did_ and that was what made her freeze completely. "Lynn?" She choked uncomprehendingly at the hooded person.

The figure dropped her to the ground as if she was burning coal, recognizing her. His hands trembled. "Raiha."

"Lynn, what the hell?" Yamuraiha demanded, rubbing her sore neck and jumping to her feet. "Why were you stealing from Magnoshutatt?"

"Why the hell were you _following_ me?" he retorted. Then, Lynn froze, and with the true intelligence of a genius, pieced the puzzle together. "You were there already."

There was a beat of silence as the implications of his observation sunk into his mind.

He stared at her, stupefied. Then, he repeated disbelievingly, "You were there already. You..."

Yamuraiha, using the last remnants of her rationality, came to a similar conclusion. Realization dawned on her features. "You..."

"You're one too." Lynn stared at her, horrified. They didn't dare speak the word aloud, as if saying it would solidify the severity of the situation. He stumbled over his words, choking, "Did you...who...Musta'sim?"

Her temper flared immediately in defense.

"Of course. And you're what, working for the Reim Empire?" Yamuraiha snapped, mind racing at a hundred miles per hour. He was blonde, oh god, why didn't she even make the connection between her sparring partner and Titus? She even knew he was born in the Reim Empire, for pity's sake.

She was closer to the plot than she thought. And undoubtedly, Lynn had reported to Scheherazade or whoever was in charge about his sparring partner's prowess, her rather notable talents, and her potential.

"No," Lynn shook his head, hesitating before admitting, "Parthevia. I grew up there."

 _Parthevia. That wasn't much better._

"So you decide to help those bastards?" Yamuraiha snapped.

"Don't you _dare_ criticize me, you hypocrite," Lynn retorted, his glare venomous. "I came here to learn: stealing those documents were never my primary intention. _You're_ the one cozying up with Mogamett."

"He was friends with my parents," Yamuraiha snarled. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Your parents, right. The very people that Musta'sim killed." Lynn's subtle accusation had her bristling with anger.

"And what of the purges that Parthevia's done? Don't tell me that you're blind to the experimenting they do on their own people," Yamuraiha returned, fists clenching tightly as she unintentionally used some of her past life's knowledge.

"Of _course_ I know!" Lynn bellowed, beyond furious, but before either of them could say another snide comment, footsteps approached.

"He must have gone this way!"

"Fuck," Yamuraiha cursed, tugging insistently on his cloak. "Off with the cloak."

"What?"

"Trust me," she demanded, because even though Lynn had been lying to her this entire time, _she_ had been lying too. And beyond their lies, Lynn was _her friend._

 _Her partner._

He was the one person who really understood her without words: he was the _first_ one to do so in this world.

Lynn stared at her, scrutinizing her expression for a mere second before acquiescing to her demands.

Technically, Yamuraiha never tried performing such a trick before, but now wasn't the time to hesitate. Besides, the concept behind disguising oneself was the same as Yamuraiha's invisibility spell: she just had to change the way the light around them was percepted. Invisibility was too complicated a spell to use on two people, but simple illusions weren't. Murmuring a spell under her breath, their clothes and appearance flickered until Yamuraiha was a nondescript blonde bimbo in skimpy clothing and Lynn appeared to be a dark haired, towering man with a bottle of alcohol in hand.

Heh, she always knew she worked better under pressure.

"Ah, Silas," she moaned, slinking her hands around his neck and latching onto him. Breathily, she said loudly, "We shouldn't, not here."

Lynn caught on quickly. "Come on," he slurred, his body language changing completely. His hands slid from her hair to her neck, sending a wonderful thrill down Yamuraiha's spine. "We've been babysitting those brats all day; it's about time we treated ourselves."

The Magnoshutatt guards, who turned the corner and spotted their blatant PDA, paused. One brave guard stepped forward. "Have you seen a suspicious figure around this area?" he demanded.

Yamuraiha pried herself away from Lynn's minstriations sultrily, sending the guard a death-glare. "Does it _look_ like we have?" she demanded, propping a hand on her hip and drawing attention to her state of half-undress.

The guard flushed. "Sorry, ma'am, just doing our job."

"Well, you're not doing your job very well, are you?" Lynn sneered, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Yamuraiha's waist.

"We'll be on our way now," another guard said, bowing his head and grabbing his partner, hissing something at him. Turning to them, he nodded once more. "Sorry 'bout this."

Yamuraiha sniffed haughtily, tossing her hair and shooing them away dismissively with her hand. "Carry on."

As soon as the guards left, Lynn's hands dropped from her sides.

"Raiha, you..."

"Don't thank me," she said shortly. "Not when we're both..."

"...traitors? Backstabbers?" Lynn offered helpfully. His cheerful demeanor dropped and he groaned, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Sera's going to murder us. I thought that if he had you..."

"I thought he would have _you,"_ Yamuraiha replied, shaking her head and biting her lip. "He's going to hate us. Alyasa's going to hate us. Heck, Erik too, and he's the closest thing I have to a brother in this world. And the sad thing is that I wouldn't even _blame_ them."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Do you really think this is a conversation we should be having here?" Yamuraiha evaded his question, tugging on his sleeve. "Come on, we can talk in a more secure location."

Weaving through the various alleyways with relative ease, Yamuraiha took the fastest route to Erik's lab. She knew that the magician was off mingling with other instructors at a tavern anyways; he'd informed her that he wouldn't be able to make it to their weekly meeting. If she wasn't holding onto Lynn's sleeve, she would've thought herself unaccompanied: the blonde moved silently, gliding through the labyrinth of alleyways without making a single sound.

"Wind Magic," Lynn explained when he saw her glance at his feet. "It was one of the first tricks I learned."

"Well, we're here," she announced, slipping in the lab. "Let's talk."

"You're working for Musta'sim," he stated. At her nod, he rose an eyebrow. "Why? I had the impression that you were assimilating well into this culture."

"Friends being held hostage, trying to prevent a revolt that'll kill hundreds of thousands, the usual," Yamuraiha explained dismissively, practically collapsing on the plush couch located at the back of the lab for her convenience. "It's nothing personal, mind you."

"So if you had the choice," Lynn proposed hesitantly, "you'd stay here?"

"Magnoshutatt's not my home."

"But is _Musta'sim?"_

He really _did_ know her too well. She paused, then admitted, "No."

Lynn studied her, eyes too knowing. Then, he tilted his head. "Musta'sim, eh?"

Yamuraiha's lips tugged upwards at the almost...light note in his voice. "There are some nice people over there that can't defend themselves. Between Magnoshutatt and Musta'sim, I'd put my money on you guys surviving."

Lynn shrugged. "Can't fault that logic."

Something about his easy acceptance lifted a weight off her chest. She shifted so that she could face him, head tilted inquisitively. "You're Parthevia's agent? Why?"

Lynn paused. For a moment, it looked as if he'd refuse to speak, but his will ultimately wavered under Yamuraiha's gaze. "You...you knew about Parthevia's experiments. They keep that under wraps: how did you find out? How much do you know?"

"I hear things," Yamuraiha explained vaguely, slouching. "And I know enough."

Lynn stared at her, conflict clearly written on his face. Then, he resigned himself and mirrored her posture, leaning back in his chair as well. "Parthevia's current government is quite elitist. If you're different from their ideal type of citizen, you're the bottom of the pyramid."

Alright, just like many other fascist regimes in history. She could follow.

"I am a citizen of Parthevia, but was born in the Reim Empire as you know. The fact that I discovered an affinity for magic...well, I was ostracized enough for my heritage. This characteristic made me stand out more."

"So you did this to _prove_ yourself?" Her incredulity must've come through in her voice.

" _No,"_ Lynn replied emphatically, glaring at her. "I wasn't going to let them take my family."

" _What?"_

"The experiments, dumbass." He scowled. "They needed more magicians. I don't know what for, but I get the feeling that Sinbad's growing collection of metal vessels are making them a bit uneasy. "

"Why'd they send _you?"_

"Why indeed?" His lips tugged upwards. "I had a teacher, Myers, who taught me the basics. The Thunder Whip magician, they called her: considering my affinity for Lightning magic, she was the ideal tutor. Myers was originally going to come here to hone her magic, but she offered for me to go instead..."

Yamuraiha _recognized_ that name. Wasn't that the woman who taught Aladdin? She didn't know that Myers originally belonged to Parthevia...presumedly, in canon she _had_ taken the offer to attend Magnoshutatt, although Yamuraiha doubted that the iron-willed woman from her memories was a spy. What would cause her to refuse?

"Myers?" she pressed. "How did she develop her magic if she never came here?"

"She was self taught, I think," Lynn replied, scowling. "But she told me she'd protect my village if I took over the 'troublesome' duty of coming here. And even though she's an ass, I trust her. She _was_ my teacher, after all."

That...didn't sound at _all_ like the magic instructor Yamuraiha remembered. A shiver ran down her spine. _Could it be…?_

Lynn's voice broke through her ruminating. "And you?"

Yamuraiha paused, aquamarine eyes flickering with worries and hope at the same time. She licked her lips, playing idly with the hem of her robe. "Well...what do you want to know?"

"Why?"

It was only one word, yet it encompassed a plethora of questions. Why would she betray Magnoshutatt? Why did she care so much about Musta'sim? Why did she choose to come on that night? There was a beat of silence as she wondered how to explain.

"I…I just..."

He waited.

"...wanted to…" _Prove my existence._ "...help them. I wanted to help the people who first showed me kindness in the world...I wanted to be a force of _good."_

Lynn's eyes seemed too perceptive: it felt as if he was staring straight into her soul, tearing apart her masks and leaving her exposed and raw. It was terrifying, electrifying, and…

...liberating.

"Is that really your answer?"

"Partially," she answered truthfully, ducking behind her bangs.

Silence permeated the room once more.

They both jolted at the sound of footsteps. "Oi, Elliot, you there?" Erik called, his voice lilting in a way that obviously belied his drunken state. He stumbled into the room. "Eh? Why did'ja bring Lynn here?"

"It's time for you to go to bed," Yamuraiha sighed, shoving the scientist past the lab tables. "And I was talking with him about a few important matters. His Lightning Magic would probably be helpful with all the electronics we're working on."

"Don't _wanna_ go to bed," the older man whined petulantly, but he promptly stumbled and fell flat on his face.

Yamuraiha resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Help me tuck him in?"

"You two are closer than I thought," Lynn commented curiously, grabbing the man's sleeve and tugging him to the couch. Together, they heaved Erik onto the couch. "Why does he call you Elliot?"

"I like that name better. It sounds cooler," Yamuraiha deadpanned. Seeing Lynn's unamused stare, she rolled her eyes. "Does it really matter?" she asked rhetorically.

Lynn shugged. " _Does_ it?" he returned.

"How'd you detect me?" Yamuraiha asked curiously, changing the subject. "I was sure my invisibility spell worked."  
"You forgot to disguise your footsteps. Messy execution," he sniffed. "It's no use being invisible if you step as noisily as an elephant."

"Jerk." She stuck her tongue out at him.

Even though they both acted the same as before, both of them knew some dynamic of their friendship had changed irrevocably. Yamuraiha...Yamuraiha trusted Lynn with her life, but not with the lives of others. She couldn't afford to.

"I need the documents you have, you know," she commented idly.

"Musta'sim's interested in their Dark Rukh research?"

"Something like that."

"Ahh, I see. The war."

"...you're too perceptive for your own good."

"They'll hate you."

"...I know."

"We'll talk about this later."

"So we will."

* * *

Yamuraiha was sitting in the mess hall when the news broke.

A messenger slammed open the doors and ran into the hall, hair tousled and face flushed bright red from exertion. Immediately, everyone silenced, watching the messenger approach Mogamett. "Sir!"

"Whatever is the matter, Keisha?"

"Musta'sim...Musta'sim…"

Mogamett drew to his feet, face grim. "Has there been an attack?"

"...no, sir. Musta'sim…" The messenger took a shaky breath, sending Yamuraiha's heart plummeting. "Sir, there's a rebellion going on in Musta'sim."

"The nobles...the nobles are revolting."

Yamuraiha's fork clattered to the ground.

.

.

.

* * *

 **Bam. Plot twist one. The chapter was purposefully choppy.**

 **I repeat again: this story will expand the Magi universe, and the "you're not a special snowflake: there are others" will play into the plot. Ish.**

 **I love you all, btw. I apologize in advance for the angst.**

 **Feel free to discuss plot changes, who you think may be special snowflakes, Raiha's stupidity, etc. with me! I'd love to hear your thoughts.**


End file.
